Last week, England trounced India on the sort of raging turner MS Dhoni has routinely demanded this season. This week, on the sort of flat track at Eden Gardens where India's batsmen have thrived in the past few years, England delivered a lesson in old-fashioned Test-match batting. The vast opening stand built on the advantage provided by the immaculate bowling on the first day, and by stumps England were at 216 for 1, just 100 behind, and India were looking as flat as the pitch.

The records continued to tumble for Alastair Cook. He now has the most Test centuries for an England batsman, became the youngest batsman to 7000 Test runs, and has five hundreds in five Tests as captain. He also has the most runs by an England captain on an India tour, breaking the 51-year record set by Ted Dexter, who was honoured by the Cricket Association of Bengal at the start of this Test.

Cook was helped by a surface that offered little to the bowlers, a lightning outfield, and by what could prove one of the costliest mistakes of the series - Cheteshwar Pujara, fielding at first slip instead of his usual short leg, had a low chance from Cook but perhaps hindered by the shin pads he had on, couldn't get down in time to clasp it. Cook was on 17 at that stage, and had survived a probing spell from India's quick bowlers.

After that, though, Cook was rarely under pressure. The effortless punches through cover made an appearance, the more powerful cuts were deployed against wide deliveries, and the spinners were attacked early on. In his 151st Test innings, Cook hit only his ninth six, launching R Ashwin, who was again unable to maintain a consistent line and length, over long-on. The sweep was used effectively against the spinners, quick singles were taken, and after a couple of hours of getting properly set, the scoring picked up in the last half hour before tea.

Despite the volume of runs he has made, Cook hasn't made a name as a quick run-getter in Tests, but he scored almost twice as much as his batting partner Nick Compton in their 165-run stand. The dawdling strike-rate didn't bother Compton, who watchfully played out everything thrown at him by the India attack. It was only after he was well set that he brought out some of his strokes, including a down-the-track swipe over Pragyan Ojha's head for six.

With Cook seamlessly taking over the captaincy, and Compton already putting on two 100-plus partnerships for the first wicket, Andrew Strauss has not been missed. Compton brought up his maiden Test half-century with a controlled hook off Ishant Sharma, and with England in command, the only energetic Indians were the ones in the stands entertaining themselves with a series of Mexican waves.

India had been tight with the new ball, hardly giving away anything loose. But as the ball lost its shine, the attack also began to fade. The spinners dropped it short or strayed on leg stump far too often, and the England batsmen regularly took a run after pushing the ball straight to a fielder who was supposed to cut off the single.

Cook cruised to his 23rd Test century, with a paddle-sweep, and Compton also showed his confidence with a field-bisecting on-drive for four to move to 57. The next ball, though, he was adjudged lbw though he seemed to have gloved Ojha while attempting a paddle-sweep. There was no respite for India yet, as Cook continued to find the boundary regularly, and Jonathan Trott coolly moved to an unbeaten 21 as he searched for his first big score of the series.

James Anderson had shown his reverse-swing mastery on the first day, and though India also got the old ball to swerve around a bit, the settled England batsmen weren't troubled by it much. Zaheer Khan's strike-rate for the year ballooned towards 100 (career strike-rate 59.2) and Ishant Sharma, playing his first Test since the Adelaide Test in January, was wicketless again, and his strike-rate this year is now an astonishing 208.

The pair didn't make too much of an impact with the bat either, in the morning. Zaheer, for a change, didn't get out attempting a slog, falling lbw while playing down the wrong line while trying to defend Panesar. It was Ishant, generally seen as a sensible tailender, who was dismissed after failing to get the bat down in time following an uncharacteristically high backlift.

It was left to No. 11 Prgayan Ojha to provide MS Dhoni company, as he added a half-century to his prolific run at Eden Gardens. India were bowled out for 316, at least 100 short of what was considered a good total on a flat track. With Cook still hungry for more, and England's more aggressive batsmen yet to get their chance here, India face another tough day in the field on Friday.

@Solid_Snake Dhoni always a good cricketer and one day captain. But as a test captain not.
Yeah Indian team Batting was world best line up. If you remembered then check here
Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Sachin, Laxman was our best player in world. I can understand they all fail in England and Australia.
and because of 1-2 serial cannot decide india elgible for test or not. Just wait for best MR Solid_Snake.

kumarsSansai
on December 7, 2012, 22:00 GMT

@Narbavi Dhoni always a good cricketer and one day captain. But as a test captain not. Ashwin played well in past but in current series he is totally failure. I know England playing well but Ojha also doing well so what happened to Ashwin.
It means he cannot play good against good team.

More thing i want to add he has not much experience may be it is a big reason he is not performing well.

well hope for best.

Al_Bundy1
on December 7, 2012, 21:36 GMT

I have to admit - @ Hira1's comment is one of the silliest comments I have seen in a long time. Obviously he doesn't know anything about cricket.

@Hira1 on (December 06 2012, 16:27 PM GMT) So by that logic , England have never won a match where KP or Prior has failed in and taking 20 wickets has nothing to do with winning a game

JG2704
on December 7, 2012, 8:23 GMT

@TheBengalTiger on (December 06 2012, 10:26 AM GMT) Would it be that difficult to either blame your own bowlers/batsmen or even give a little credit to guys like Cook and Monty?

JG2704
on December 7, 2012, 8:22 GMT

@Kashif Zia on (December 06 2012, 07:45 AM GMT) Totally agree. It is statistically impossible for every team to play more home matches than away matches.

on December 7, 2012, 6:13 GMT

Dhoni your game over. We will want to see in the commentry team. Not in the playing 11.

on December 7, 2012, 6:09 GMT

India are no better than a club or county level side. Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott must b thinking to themselves that they face more tougher bowling from a county side than this. Even Zimbabwe's bowling attack would have more sting to it than India's. It won't be long before India drops further down the Test ladder to the level of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Everyone thought India would blow England out of the water in this series. Boy, that seems light-years ago, doesn't it? Zaheer and Ishant are trundlers, and Ashwin and Ojha are glorified club-level bowlers.

Narbavi
on December 7, 2012, 5:58 GMT

@kumarsSansai: No other wicket keeper batsman in indian cricket over the last two decades averages close to 40 in tests and you call MSD unfit for tests? Ashwin is the quickest to 50 test wickets in indian history and you label him unfit? Wow!!

kumarsSansai
on December 7, 2012, 22:09 GMT

@Solid_Snake Dhoni always a good cricketer and one day captain. But as a test captain not.
Yeah Indian team Batting was world best line up. If you remembered then check here
Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Sachin, Laxman was our best player in world. I can understand they all fail in England and Australia.
and because of 1-2 serial cannot decide india elgible for test or not. Just wait for best MR Solid_Snake.

kumarsSansai
on December 7, 2012, 22:00 GMT

@Narbavi Dhoni always a good cricketer and one day captain. But as a test captain not. Ashwin played well in past but in current series he is totally failure. I know England playing well but Ojha also doing well so what happened to Ashwin.
It means he cannot play good against good team.

More thing i want to add he has not much experience may be it is a big reason he is not performing well.

well hope for best.

Al_Bundy1
on December 7, 2012, 21:36 GMT

I have to admit - @ Hira1's comment is one of the silliest comments I have seen in a long time. Obviously he doesn't know anything about cricket.

@Hira1 on (December 06 2012, 16:27 PM GMT) So by that logic , England have never won a match where KP or Prior has failed in and taking 20 wickets has nothing to do with winning a game

JG2704
on December 7, 2012, 8:23 GMT

@TheBengalTiger on (December 06 2012, 10:26 AM GMT) Would it be that difficult to either blame your own bowlers/batsmen or even give a little credit to guys like Cook and Monty?

JG2704
on December 7, 2012, 8:22 GMT

@Kashif Zia on (December 06 2012, 07:45 AM GMT) Totally agree. It is statistically impossible for every team to play more home matches than away matches.

on December 7, 2012, 6:13 GMT

Dhoni your game over. We will want to see in the commentry team. Not in the playing 11.

on December 7, 2012, 6:09 GMT

India are no better than a club or county level side. Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott must b thinking to themselves that they face more tougher bowling from a county side than this. Even Zimbabwe's bowling attack would have more sting to it than India's. It won't be long before India drops further down the Test ladder to the level of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Everyone thought India would blow England out of the water in this series. Boy, that seems light-years ago, doesn't it? Zaheer and Ishant are trundlers, and Ashwin and Ojha are glorified club-level bowlers.

Narbavi
on December 7, 2012, 5:58 GMT

@kumarsSansai: No other wicket keeper batsman in indian cricket over the last two decades averages close to 40 in tests and you call MSD unfit for tests? Ashwin is the quickest to 50 test wickets in indian history and you label him unfit? Wow!!

on December 7, 2012, 5:48 GMT

English Cook seems to have extra affinity for Indian curry! Keep it up...loosing to Pakistani spinners experience now taking English team to new height.. Indian should look for the quality spinners Like Ajmal or Abdul Rehman to counter them.... Poor Ashwin and Ohja are from ordinary class particularly for test Cricket

on December 7, 2012, 5:43 GMT

A Cook is by far a better captain than Dhoni both in terms of runs scored and captaincy record,India will defintely lose this game,chance of a draw is very very less as most of d Indian batsman r out of form.Ojha is trying his best,ZaK also,but r nt able 2 pick wickets,Ashwin is a waste on this track.

go_pk_go
on December 7, 2012, 5:38 GMT

Something wrong with the Indian Pitches, the best spin bowler "ASHWIN" is going for penalty. However, the luck remains with Monty.

on December 7, 2012, 5:37 GMT

More than the skill, it is the temperament that is lacking in Indian batting.
Cook is showing them how to bat...

on December 7, 2012, 5:35 GMT

The Fact still remains :
1) For a test team - you need a combination of Bowlers and Batsman. India --> Depend on batsman for yrs, forcing them to burn and burn. Never tried to make good bowlers.

2) Whatever good bowlers we had---> they are burnt for money by playing IPL. They now bowl for SAVING runs rather than taking wickets, which dont work in TestS.

3) Looking for turning pitches help, rather than believing on self--> We had won &climbed up the ranks, just on basis of our performance at home on tailor made pitches. OUR Performance overseas & ability to win matches abroad is no secret. Because of IPL skills, we fail to take benefit of tailor madewicket. Bowlers fail to spin, Batsman fail to adjust ( there is no proper technique left)-- everyone is trying to go for shots as if test is IPL.

FOR INDIA TO COME GOOD AT TESTS : LIMIT THE IPL.
FIND QUALITY T BOWLERS- Give them REGULAR place in team, rather opting for batsman. It can make a good team in 2yrs.

on December 7, 2012, 5:34 GMT

Stupid captain.. Yuvi or Sehwag should be tested with ball for a try.. they are capable to change the match... I really suspect Dhoni's captaincy

on December 7, 2012, 5:33 GMT

a bowler like sreesanth although not that good behaviour cud hav done something different here with his reverse swing capabilities...
next give the captaincy to gambhir,he s as aggressive as dada and will bring out something far better than present...
remove ashwin and giv a chance to mishra lets see wat he can do...

arvsingh
on December 7, 2012, 5:33 GMT

Ashwin is bowling so well ... Indian commentators are appreciating is quality of his bowling and Dhoni keeps calling, "Good bowling Ashwin". Up at the stands BCCI officials are congratulating each other on fine display of bowing by R. Ashwin. I think we are missing something ... No wickets have fallen and then I realize it was all a dream.

on December 7, 2012, 5:15 GMT

I think a few points that must be noted here.
1. Engliishmen played superbly, cook looked good and did what a top batsman does, consistently score . If Monty has surpassed Swann, that must say something about the team, this english team is special. Celebrate Indian fans for this is what we want us to be in 2 years. I feel this is the best opposition India has faced in some decades.
2. Indian team is on a huge decline, and it is sad that the next few years look very bad for this team . First of all, Sachin, Viru, Dhoni , Zaheer, Yuvraj must be dropped, India must invest in new breed of players and expect them to show results in 2-3 years. The team needs a better captain, who enjoys leadership, Dhoni sadly is a pale shadow of himself.
3. Selectors must give youngsters a chance, you are wasting players like Rahane, Badrinath has no chance, please dont kill others as well.
4. Zaheer must not be considered any more, give Dinda, Pankaj singh etc a chance to play..

bhrangi
on December 7, 2012, 5:14 GMT

@Indian team : If you don't want to play test matches, Please don't play. Don't embarrass us by playing test matches. When we lost on England, we thought because of big players we lost. When we lost on Australia, we thought big 3 players not in form. Now we are losing even in our home, what's happening :-( without even analyzing the defeat BCCI will be busy in convincing IPL franchise and advertisers may be planning about next IPL. BCCI hereafter arrange only ODI and T20 series, our only advantage of strong batting line up was faded in fact completely lost his charm

Desihungama
on December 7, 2012, 5:08 GMT

316 is not a bad score. Unfortunately, India does not have the bowling to restrict any opponent.

S.Seshachalam
on December 7, 2012, 5:01 GMT

After taking over as chairman of selection committee we are yet to see any aggression from Sandeep Patil like his batting!! Time has come to take harsh decisions. No big names in the Indian team are above cricket. What is Zak & Ishant doing?!! Ashok Dinda could have been tried being a local boy and having a good idea of the Eden pitch...Irfan could have been included....No use commenting.....cricket in India is highly commercialized and no body plays for the game. Time to think and implement some stringent clauses for players participating in IPL!! IPL has killed test cricket, especially in India.....at this rate, we may go down below Bangladesh also in the ICC ratings...looks like even God cannot save Indian cricket....

Johnfrancis99
on December 7, 2012, 5:00 GMT

England had a piece of luck in this series so they are doing well

romanc
on December 7, 2012, 4:49 GMT

Now media and Dhoni will understand the importance of senior players like Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin...Everybody was eager for retirement...

on December 7, 2012, 4:44 GMT

indian selectors need to take harsh decisions. Yuvraj had been tried so many times at test level without success. Why not try jadhav, tiwary, rahane in tests ?.

on December 7, 2012, 4:43 GMT

As a Pakistani, i think india should win this match, otherwise the lose of this game they cannot digest.

on December 7, 2012, 4:40 GMT

India must be no.10 test team within 2 year..............surely.........

kayarr
on December 7, 2012, 4:36 GMT

continued.. The format does not inspire my countrymen as it did a young Tendulkar or a Dravid. I feel sorry for the Pujara's of India. As India globalizes more, it looks to the US for inspiration in some aspects and appears to have not much time for old world indulgences as typified by test cricket. This is not dissimilar to Australia which looked to America attitudinally and not England around the time it embraced the changes brought into the game by Packer. While the game evolved, the game never lost its foothold among the masses in Australia. I fear India is going the way of the Windies in tests albeit for different reasons. It's been tough on a die hard cricket (test or ODI) fan like me. Hope the next 3 years prove me wrong.

kayarr
on December 7, 2012, 4:35 GMT

@Cpt.Meanster- For a while after the hidings in England and Australia I convinced myself that it had to do with an ageing outfit and that normal service would be restored in home conditions. However, it has dawned on me that a)we have a shortage of experience, which can be addressed over time as Australia did when their greats retired in the mid 80s. However, the more worrying / saddening realization is that b)we probably are witnessing the waning of interest in tests in India. contined..

Ravi_Venky
on December 7, 2012, 4:30 GMT

I wonder why we are not talking about Coach Fletcher.Same team did well
when Kirsten was around.Even Greg Chappel gave good results.

on December 7, 2012, 4:13 GMT

India sppiners are allowing England to bat and settle in because of lack of variation. They cannot bowl a straight delivery on the middle or on the leg stumps. They need to ocassionally bowl a straight delivery just outside the off stump as well. They need brains like Harbajan

This is their weakness.

CricShanghai
on December 7, 2012, 4:03 GMT

Commentators Harsha and Paul C. were discussing about sexiness as term used to express current style of batting..one thing comes to my mind, how come cricket as a sport don't produce cricketers like Beckham?.. The last time we heard about heart-trobe cricketer was probably Imran Khan....

on December 7, 2012, 4:02 GMT

I believe Indian supporters were much concerned about the Bangladesh's test status. But, now time has arrived to think about their own issues. It is not something u can always achieve by bullying.

m_ilind
on December 7, 2012, 3:45 GMT

Dhoni has pulled all stops imaginable to get "home advantage". First, it was BCCI's refusal of UDRS, then the request for "square turners". And he even won all the three tosses, but does it help? I can think of only word to describe India's performance: incompetence.

on December 7, 2012, 3:30 GMT

You cannot win test matches without strike bowlers! The main difference is bowlers with bowling figures of 5 for 200+ (India) and 5 for 70 or 80. India do not have strike bowlers at this point of time.

gpindian
on December 7, 2012, 3:04 GMT

I am glad I am not an international cricketer because I would hate playing for India. Indian cricket fans are so sour and unsporting towards their own players. Only Day 1 is over and anything can happen, but you guys are so unsupportive during bad days! Not a single comment about the fight shown by Gambhir, Tendulkar or Dhoni today, huh?

lukecannon
on December 7, 2012, 3:00 GMT

I dont think it's a toothless bowling attack that India have. I think it's Cook they fear. It's all Cook. His tempermant. I hope KP joins the party today. Another 4-day Victory on the cards.

on December 7, 2012, 2:43 GMT

ENG may get 500 mark. It will be good a lead. Now another test ahead of Indian batsmen, its fact no one is performing really to cater or sabotage the bowling of ENG. Pitch will play role; It will get slow and complex to bat.

Indiafan_from_Montreal
on December 7, 2012, 2:42 GMT

The time for delusion is long past. The Indian team is hopeless and will not win this match or the next one. Do not blame the coach who is relatively powerless but technically very good. Blame BCCI and the insane star culture of India. It is time to drop Sachin, Dhoni, Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Gambhir and Ashwin. Here is the test team we should try: Rahane, Mukund/Vijay, Pujara, Sharma, Kohli, Tiwary, Karthik, Dinda, Aaron, Yadav and Rahul Sharma. They will be thrashed by this superb English team but it will help them develop for the future. Yes, despite the odiousness of the English fans (and I experienced them first hand last year at Lords and Edgbaston) we have to acknowledge a fantastic English team with a captain who is already a legend and will break Tendulkar's records.

on December 7, 2012, 2:42 GMT

Poor Indian test cricket fans paying the price for poor administration and too much T20 cricket.
Having seen the way their Olympic committee has appointed people facing serious charges one can have no hope for the future of this deeply flawed nation or its sporting culture.
Go England and what a magnificent cricketer Cook is- roll on the Ashes!

PadMarley
on December 7, 2012, 2:37 GMT

What a mistake in the history of cricket that India are current world champions, and was no1 test side few months ago!!! And now struggling to survive at home.. Its inevitable that India will loose this game and the series.... at least it will open the eyes of that so called rich, arrogant and brainless cricketing authority!

Solid_Snake
on December 7, 2012, 2:26 GMT

@kumarsSansai...What an excuse man..It is India's own home ground.When Dhoni was winning matches for you,at that time he was a match winner but now how can you blame dhoni when whole team is failing here..Also 8-0 india loosing in Eng & Aus,before that Indian batting was considered to be the best in the world.What suddenly happened?Should i assume that most players went old in a gap of just few months Lol..blaming Old players & new players at the same time dose not make any sense.Infact all other teams are like that & nobody came up with such an excuse.According to this excuse Indian team is not even fit for test cricket.They should stop playing it if the old cant play,new cant settle in.Kohli who was a match winner,suddenly went down in a match or 2.
A pathetic batting like Pak did white wash England recently & we faced the similar Swann & Panesar combination btw..& look at India in their own home ground.

PS->When your opponents plays well,try to appreciate that as well.

Al_Bundy1
on December 7, 2012, 2:19 GMT

India is doomed in this match. A face saving draw is the best India can manage in this test. India is playing test cricket with a T20 team. If India is serious about tests, it has to field players who are dedicated to this format. Players like Sehwag, Kohli, Yuvi/Raina, Dhoni, and Ashwin don't belong in a test team. They are good players for ODI and T20 but completely unsuitable for tests. For tests we need batsmen like Rahane, Badrinath, Mohd Kaif, Manoj Tiwary, and Saha as wicket keeper. We need to try youngsters like Shami Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, B Kumar, Mohanty and Pankaj Singh. All of them are better bowlers than I can't take a wicket Sharma.

pkolluri
on December 7, 2012, 2:18 GMT

The pains of transition.
Indian test cricket is in transition. We all know that three of the fab five have retired. It is not easy. Australia once won 16 tests on a trot and have lost the series to South Africa at home. So let us not fool ourselves. Zaheer Khan does not have the sting he once had. Ishant never matured into a full fledge bowler, Ashwin and Ojha are in a infancy stage. So please give some time to India to sort out its players and settle itself. After all we reached #1 in Tests, Won the World Cup and also ranked 2 in ODI's. This is not a bad achievement. Credit goes to Dhoni for weathering the storm in a Cricket crazy country. Please give India a break.

Hardy1
on December 7, 2012, 2:13 GMT

At the moment it looks like the SA, Eng & Aus will be the big three in Test match cricket for a few years, and all of them have promising talent (Australia's batting being the weakest link out of the lot) coming up too. The subcontinent looks set to struggle (with Pakistan looking in the best shape at the moment), although at least we're seeing an improved West Indies and a hint of potential in New Zealand's last few matches. Bangladesh have been disappointing and Zimbabwe not much better.

Hardy1
on December 7, 2012, 2:09 GMT

Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman, Kumble & later Zaheer for a few years. It's going to be impossible for India to replace these players with equal or better ones I'm afraid; this downward trend (in Tests at least) looks set to continue for a while.

Mitcher
on December 7, 2012, 1:55 GMT

Like any reminder was needed after seeing him flay my team in the most recent ashes, but this guy Cook really is something special. Great to see the way he goes about it on and off the field. A test cricketer for the purists.

Yarms
on December 7, 2012, 1:34 GMT

So sad to watch - I know we can have a bad day - but we have a pop gun attack. Our fielding is shoddy at best. How can at this level Pujara stand at 1st slip with padding on!!! We look like a joke on the field. The Shewag run out was joke.....This is school boy stuff!! No one drops a catch on purpose but we should at least give ourselves the best chance. It may not be over but we are fighting for survival. I thnk most of the team needs to be sacked. I actually don't blam Dohni whether it is the team he is given or the one he chooses he can only do so much as captain. The boys are not delivering. In any corporate professional organistion ( The players are employees of the BCCI) most of them would have been sacked for non performance. Very sad saete of affairs ... Do blame the IPL .. Blame the lack of professionalisim..

kumarsSansai
on December 7, 2012, 1:26 GMT

Team Status :
1. Dhoni is not a test player/Captain
2. Zaheer and Sachin are too old
3. Sehwag and Gambhir are not in form.
4. Yuvraj and Ashwin are not test players
5. Pujara and Kohli are just new comer they are trying to settle.
6. Ojha and Ishant Experienced and trying to do well..

How India can win test match.
Think about it..............

on December 7, 2012, 1:23 GMT

MSD made a big mistake losing so heavily in Mumbai on the exact type of pitch he asked for. He said it was only 1 game, but in reality it seems to have gone a long way towards dispelling England's sub-continental mental issues. On a pitch more like Ahmedabad than Mumbai, England are still dominating. I doubt that would be the case had MSD and co.put up a better fight at the Wankhede. Those saying already this will be a draw should remember KP is yet to bat, and India could easily be facing sheer weight of runs pressure in their 2nd innings.

on December 7, 2012, 1:14 GMT

Gavaskar, Dravid, VVS, Jaffer, Badrinath etc are all pure test class players. India had produced players of test calibre in the past. We still do, like Rahane, & Tiwari. Unfortunately excessive commercialization of cricket incentivised test players to adapt to suit the short format. Even Dravid & VVS were forced to, by circumstances.

Destroying test class players is only one edge of the double edged sword, cutting into the gentle body of test cricket. The other cutting edge is the fact that we keep on pushing great players of the short format into the test teams, totally neglecting the test calibre players. Rahane's frustration on the one hand, and Kohli's (to some extent Yuvi's too) travails on the other symbolise this -- India bleeding with self inflicted wounds with this double-edged sword.

Let us pray for the badly wounded Indian test cricket's healing and speedy recovery. Hope, timely remedies will save us all from writing painful obituaries! Amen.

on December 7, 2012, 0:39 GMT

Its a poor show from indian bowlers.

mikey76
on December 7, 2012, 0:14 GMT

Hira1. I think you're being a touch optimistic hoping for a draw. England will bat big and get 200 in front. Then your fragile batting will crumble to the spin twins. An Innings defeat could happen, if not a small run chase on the fifth day. KP will be chomping at the bit to join Cook on 23 hundreds.

prabachris
on December 6, 2012, 23:31 GMT

No Doubt England on Top but truth is India at their lowest level in test cricket.
Drop tendu, sewag,dhoni, zaheer,yuvraj,Harbajan.and add mukund, rahane,dinesh karthik,Varun Aooron,raina and suffle with neW young fast bowlwrs like dinda..and then play test cricket .Allow them to fail in few tests and after that allow time for a spark to happen in the team and groom them for the future .AS AN INDIAN, I FEEL ITS BETTER FOR INDIA TO LOSE TEST MATCHES WITH FUTURE YOUNG PLAYER ( They can learn from mistakes) RATHER THAN LOSING TESTS WITH SENIOR OLD PLAYERS.

on December 6, 2012, 23:26 GMT

The fact that India is struggling on tailor made pitches is telling. It is telling of one thing: lack of world class bowlers. And this is not a recent thing.

Other than Kumble, Kapil Dev, there has not been a bowler who could have commanded a place in any other team were the test to be played outside India. Not for the last 40 years.

This, with an abundance of monies available for development.

Atlantic252
on December 6, 2012, 23:22 GMT

England's batters are showing India's just how easy this pitch is to score on. India's bowlers pose little threat and unless they take early wickets this could be a mammoth score by England. Whilst India are brilliant at one day and T-20, test matches have shown up their failings. Batsmen can't occupy the crease long enough, and bowlers lack penetration. An England win looks very likely now. Sehwag and Kohli may look majestic, but you need Sunny Gavasker, Rahul Dravd or a young Sachin to save this match.

shovwar
on December 6, 2012, 23:18 GMT

To Mr Sehwag and other Arrogant players. Please keep ur feet on the ground when you are playing well. Because "Karma" is a bad thing. Does India have the ability to take 20 wicket in Indian pitches in test Cricket? Can anyone answer please. I would love to see them fight back in this Test. But i am feeling hopeless.

fguy
on December 6, 2012, 23:14 GMT

@afs_talyarkhan unfortunately i dont think even if we lose 3-1 here & against pakistan & are whitewashed by australia anything is going to change except for a few cosmetic changes. the indian fan is just going to keep getting it in the gut coz neither the bcci or the players care.
@Islander1 i think india should stop playing permanently. we have become (rightly so) the laughing stock of the world
@ravikb - I, and i suspect, many fellow fans are going to join u & stop following cricket after these shameful 18 months. its not that we've lost. everyone loses. its the manner of the losses. i think its better to spend our time & mental energy on other things then on these incompetent/uncaring players

on December 6, 2012, 23:01 GMT

Watching these games from U.S is pain as it is and then watching India caving is even more painful. I am Pakistani but watch all the matches of big cricket nations. Having watched all the recent tests of India, I can vouch to following,

1. Dhoni does not know how to place the field and worse even bowlers doesn't have the clue where they really need the fielders.
2. Selectors are too scared to displease captain or offend senior players by making any changes in the squad.
3. Fletcher is somehow under BCCI/Captain pressure to continue with the certain players regardless of their performance.
4. Bowlers does have talent but are mostly clueless and need a good bowling coach.
5. There is a great deal of hesitance to try new bowlers. They bring Bahji back he failed then they will bring Balaji he will fail again, then Yadav will come back to solve some issues but still Yadav need way more guidance from good coach. In the meantime India should try those players which are not given chance

BG4cricket
on December 6, 2012, 22:55 GMT

Time to face facts. India are a very ordinary team and no amount of pitch adaptations will hide the fact. Most of the batsmen apart from Pujara and to a lesser extent Kohli have been poor all year, and the bowling doesn't look great - certainly time for Zaheer to go. There seems to be no good energy and drive around the group either so the captain also needs looking at.

bobbo2
on December 6, 2012, 22:54 GMT

England will start slow and then speed the rate up with a lead of around 150 - 200 by the end of the day.

Will give England 2 days to bowl India out for around 300 or less.

Don't understand all these comments that this game will be a draw or India win. India's bowlers are not that good and there is no evidence to think India will storm back into this one.

The penny has dropped that India's batsman are past their best and the bowlers average at best. You can't win by batting alone.

MinusZero
on December 6, 2012, 22:42 GMT

Its hard to believe that Cook could still be around in 10 years time. Primed to be the top run scorer of all time - sorry Sachin

SrUmpire
on December 6, 2012, 22:29 GMT

I really pray that india gets knocked down in this match too. If by any chance we win this series selectors will forget fundamental issues plaguing our team, and will not give chances to young players. The spinners are bowling under the impression that england will donate their wickets, and when the batsmen are batting they are giving the impression that opposition bowlers are spitting venom.

MMahmood1
on December 6, 2012, 22:26 GMT

India is paying the price for dropping Cook earlier in the inning. In my point of view, India to go on back foot and try to furstrate the batsmen by not letting them score easily. Pitch is flat England batsmen will hand wickets and apply pressure as soon as they gets the first wicket in the morning session.
In the second innings MS should come in before Kohli and Uvraj.
For England the approach will be simple bat till all day and declare 1 hr before the close of play. Let the uick have a go at the fragile batting line up in this series.
I think if India played properly and focsed the draw is on the cards.

cjscanada
on December 6, 2012, 22:24 GMT

@jimcilhinney - Good neutral post. enjoy reading your comments. My opinion of Swann a better bowler than Panesar but it is twice since the later has upstaged him. Maybe Mushy's input have worked on him this time. Cook is the player that rocks in international cricket at the moment. He sure is going through some sort of a purple patch. Kudos to England, after the 1st game even their fans had given up on them. What a transformation. Then think of it, India may have something to do with it too. They are all totally out of form. Team selection not ideal. Ideally the transition should have been gradual but replacing 4 icon players in the span of two years is not right but then carrying too many out of form players too resulted in an undesired choice. I still feel India has good batting potential but the bowling for a while has been pathetic and it appears that for at least the next year they are going to be in a decline mode. If India comes unscathed in this series it will be a miracle.

sapna_m
on December 6, 2012, 22:22 GMT

We should not forget what happened to Australia in Eden Gardens. India played superbly in second innings and won in great style. England should not forget that and even Indians, to boost their moral...

InsideHedge
on December 6, 2012, 22:15 GMT

Even an amateur can see that Cook scores a huge percentage of his runs square on both sides, thru 3rd man, and round the corner on the leg side. You don't even need a conventional mid off or mid on, but you need protection on those square boundaries, esp on the off side.

Cook must be thinking Xmas came early, he's been gifted consistently short bowling allowing cuts galore, he hasn't been made to work for his runs. There's a distinct lack of intelligence in the Indian "think" tank. First to go has to be Duncan Fletcher who has presided over some shocking results, Duncan comes with a great reputation in man management and attention to detail. He's been a colossal failure.

GDH62
on December 6, 2012, 22:13 GMT

@Hira1 That's right, a double hundred for Cook couldn't possibly result in a win for England *cough* 294 *cough* Birmingham *cough* last year *cough* against India. Of the (record-breaking) 23 hundreds Cook has scored, 11 of them have been in wins for England, 7 in draws and 4 in losses (we've got another 3 days to see how this century will pan out). Jonathan Trott does even better with 5 of his 7 centuries resulting in victory for England. So that's a 50% century/win ratio for Cook, and a 71% ratio for Trott.

on December 6, 2012, 22:12 GMT

This test match brought back the memories of dreaded Australian and England tours. Tooth less bowling and spineless batting. It did not seem one bit that the series is happening in India. Indian batsmen seem to be in a possession and Visiting batsemen never seem to get out. As if , they are batting on two different pitches...India is on the brink of another test loss and there by another series loss! Sad, this is happening in India.My prediction is that India loses the series 1-2. With this loss in Kolkata, they will manufacture a pitch which is a straight lift from Sharjah..where all the flat track bullies make merry and the contest will be high-scoring , dull and dreary draw! What a huge waste of time for the Indian cricket fans! This series has also proven that we do not have quality spinners like Ajmal, or Ajantha. Cup board is bare.Time for Tendulkar to hang up the boots!

on December 6, 2012, 22:07 GMT

@ Posted by Hira1 on (December 06 2012, 16:27 PM GMT). Strange, Cook got a ton in the last test and England won. There are still 3 days left man, plenty of time for Cook and England to score the runs, declaire and knock India over again at the current rate of scoring. Generally speaking the scoring will increase a the Indian bowlers continue to tire. I'm not saying it is a dead cert that Engand will win, but do think it is laughable to say England will not win unless cook and Trott get out! Roll on plenty more runs for captain fantastic!

ImpartialExpert
on December 6, 2012, 22:00 GMT

England have played well. After the first test loss they have shown the grit and determination that reminds me of the Flintoff days. India is definitely going downhill. This is expected once the big four retired. But even the bowling looks bad. So the writing is on the wall for India

Go England!!! There's nothing better to see than Indians getting smashed in India..
Hope England with this series and Sachin make some runs to end his career!!

skilebow
on December 6, 2012, 21:43 GMT

The game is definitely not over as many journalists seemed to have implied. India are still 100 ahead and any eng watcher of the last year will agree that eng may not even get a lead or just a small one and will have to bat fourth on deteriorating pitch
However, Hira1's comment is one of the stupidest i've ever heard

on December 6, 2012, 21:33 GMT

OH dear MS your boys are being well beat again.
Your spinners would get a game with a minor county let a lone a 1st class side.
MS you wicket keeping is poor, your captaincy is average and your team is full of has been or journeymen test cricketers at best-
4-0 you said u were going to win dont make me laugh

Chris_P
on December 6, 2012, 21:27 GMT

Well done to the Poms, good comeback after the first test. Excellent application & patience by Cook.

Leggie
on December 6, 2012, 21:26 GMT

One of the worst bowling performances in recent times. The bowlers lack self-belief and the captain seems even more clueless. Really do feel for Dhoni. The way opponents pile on runs against India, very soon statisticians will start excluding matches played against Zimbabwe/Bangladesh and India in making realistic comparisons. The sad part is there appears no relief in sight.

ToTellUTheTruth
on December 6, 2012, 21:18 GMT

Fading and growing pains...all at one time for India. This series is long lost. Good luck with rebuilding.

JG2704
on December 6, 2012, 21:14 GMT

Obviously a decent day for England. Fell sorry for Nick as he was starting to come out of his shell a bit and looking so much more confident but then I guess Cook used up our quota of luck being dropped by Pujara.

Re Compton - It's unfortunate for him there's no DRS in this series but It certainly wasn't a howler as some are making out. I did however find it bizzarre that Tucker shook his head and then raised his finger. I've seen umpires take an age to make a decision but - and I'm sure someone will point out an example - never an umpire giving a clear indication he was not interested and then raising his finger

Re Pujara dropping Cook. They were talking about why the specialist slip Sehwag wasn't in there. Just a thought but I thought I read/heard somewhere that Sehwag and Dhoni don't get on? Just wondering if they may have had a falling out which led to NSD wanting VS away from him?

JG2704
on December 6, 2012, 21:00 GMT

@TheBengalTiger on (December 06 2012, 10:26 AM GMT) Would it be that difficult to either blame your own bowlers/batsmen or heaven forbid even give a little credit to guys like Cook and Monty

JG2704
on December 6, 2012, 20:59 GMT

@Kashif Zia on (December 06 2012, 07:45 AM GMT) Totally agree. It is statistically impossible for every team to play more home matches than away matches.

funkypiston
on December 6, 2012, 20:57 GMT

For five innings in a row, the top order for India displayed spineless batting. Will be interesting to see if the selectors show same disrespect that was rendered towards Laxman. And please what is the matter with our spinners ? A 70 year old Kumble will spit more venom with the ball than Ojha and Ashwin.

Hyderabadi_Nawab
on December 6, 2012, 20:57 GMT

For a side to be competitive in test cricket it has to be an outstanding fielding unit. This Indian team is not - look at the bunch we have currently, none apart from Virat and MS seem to be even alive - rest are pathetic and unfit, a poor excuse of a fielding side.

Valavan
on December 6, 2012, 20:47 GMT

@Hira1, Sour grapes aren't tasty. Speaking of draw in Day 2, hehe seems you were one of the moaners here who were saying this and that, how poor England against spin blahhhh and bluff, now desperate on the verge of tears. hehe. cricinfo please publish.

Lmaotsetung
on December 6, 2012, 20:33 GMT

When England gets whitewashed in Oz we had the Schofield report. When Australia loses back to back Ashes series they came up with the Argus Review. When India loses 0-8 in away Test, we hear "wait til they come to the sub-continent." India fans like to make predictions, England fans make analysis. When India loses, it's the dropped catches, weather, pitch, toss, umpire, bad luck, etc, etc, etc. When England loses, it's players not performing and heads are rolled even if it means dropping the vice captain (i.e Stuart Broad).

am243am
on December 6, 2012, 20:25 GMT

Since the victory at Ahmedabad India have played uninspired cricket - specially among the bowlers and fielders. Ashwin has been bowling all over the place and has lost the plot. As evidenced in the previous test Bhajji is worse. The fielding stinks - it felt like I was watching a tape from tests in the 60's.

Discipline, Inspiration and desperation is needed to save this test!

on December 6, 2012, 20:22 GMT

@ Hira1, not sure how you work that out, even if England bat for another day and a half at 3 an over (Which both Trott and Cook are capable of going faster than that once set) that gives them about 350 lead, then India would have to bat out the last day and half which if they couldn't manage it on day one, don't think day 4 or 5 will be any easier.

thruthecovers
on December 6, 2012, 20:19 GMT

To think Indian fans were licking their lips at the thought of revenge for their humiliation since PAK whitewashed the English. Once SA was done with ENG, they were realy salivating. Like they say, life is what happens while you make other plans! LOL Read a funny comment earlier about India now waiting to get back to ENG to affect double revenge. Stakes are getting higher and higher.

bobmartin
on December 6, 2012, 20:17 GMT

Maybe the Indian team are playing too much IPL rubbish and their attention span has become attuned to 20 over thrashes and once they get past that point, they lose interest.. How else do you sum up their dismal fielding and the pies their bowlers were chucking down.

on December 6, 2012, 20:14 GMT

This is draw game. Any tom dick harry can play on this pitch. Its just u have to play ur natural game on this pitch. The odds favour england but i feel india also will bat through in the second innings.

Pandyan
on December 6, 2012, 20:02 GMT

So, we first lost only the away series then all thought we lost because we were unable to play to their conditions, but check out now we are losing the home series also. I dont know when the BCCI would realise this and take some necessary actions to atleast create a team which wins home series im sure this series is a win for England psychologically as they were beaten thoroughly by Pakistan and now they are winning the matches here. Very sad to see this still Dhoni as captain for team doing nothing to win the matches.

TequillaGuy
on December 6, 2012, 20:00 GMT

Well Done England! :) I am sure English fans are enjoying this after years of poor showing in India.They really are playing well. I was amazed at the disciplined bowling on the first day when pitch had little to offer.Anderson and Monty bowled superbly one of the better bowling spellsI have seen in sub-continent for a while.Sachin vs Anderson/Monty was fascinating to watch.Indians are struggling with poor discipline in batting and bowling. Dhoni's poor tactics,field placings and defensive mindset is only making matters worse. Ashwin and Kohli,both are realizing how it feels when you are out of form.Both can do with some work on technique and discipline.Ashwin bowls atleast 2 loose balls an over which takes off any pressure built from the other end. The moment he was introduced,English batsmen started scoring freely.I hope people start asking questions about Dhoni's continued poor run as a captain and his very questionable tactics throughout his tenure instead of Sachin bashing.

poms_have_short_memories
on December 6, 2012, 19:54 GMT

India's bowling must be no less than insipid if this same English team that got embarrassed at home by South Africa can score so freely and easily against them.

Overall the Itinerary this time is very wrongly done during winter season, during which English is much comfortable. Bring them during hot summer of May-June and make them toil, sweat to get a run...as well the pitches will crack and turn better. Make the English Sweat.

on December 6, 2012, 19:37 GMT

i was saying from long before the series started that if in 2011 West Indies without Gayle & Sarwan while having Sammy as 3rd 'pacer' could win 1st innings points twice against India with Dravid & Laxman in their batting lineup In India it is not 2 far fetched that England will spring a surprise or 2 on tour with those 2 retired but for some reason cricinfo always refused to post my prophecy & now its coming to pass. :p

GeoffreysMother
on December 6, 2012, 19:36 GMT

Islander
'India should stop playing cricket for a few months' - its called the IPL isn't it? You are right though, some serious thinking needs to be done in all departments from the board downward. Dravid papered over a lot of cracks when it came to Test cricket.

on December 6, 2012, 19:32 GMT

Well Indian management should decide now that when they will get rid of these old, aging legends coz India now need fresh blood n enthusiastic players who really want to show their talent to the world.well I haven't seen any energy in the field it looked like players just spending a day.

UglyIndian
on December 6, 2012, 19:22 GMT

Before the series started....Rahul Dravid made a terse remark on the lines of 'bits and pieces players don't do well in India', taking a swipe at Samit Patel. After 2 tests and 2 days' play in the third, the only player who really looks 'bits and pieces' is R Ashwin. He can't cut it as a batter, and honestly, I can do a better job than him as a bowler. To think this guy actually plays test cricket for India...on the basis of some IPL performances, is the biggest mockery of everyone's intelligence.

on December 6, 2012, 19:17 GMT

Congrats to Captain Cook, as a West Indies fan all I can say is that I wish we had a captain who led from the front. India have followed international cricket trends and not selected attacking legspinners like Chawla, where are the leggies check England's record against them maybe Chawla,Ojha Ashwin with Udav & Sharma (Khan is not suited any more to Test in my view) with Dhoni at 6. Ashwin and Chawla can both bat.

on December 6, 2012, 19:16 GMT

>>Vishnu. 100% correct - a long way to go. Let's see this time tomorrow
>>Hira1 - with all respect, you're 100% wrong. There are 9 sessions left - average 100 runs per session. Cook / Trott can bat all day without risk and England will be 200 ahead with 2 days to go - then go mad for 90 minutess and leave India 5 sessions and 20 minutes to score 350 to avoid an innings defeat on a pitch conducive by then to variable bounce for the 'quicks' and spin for the new Spin Twins. India's batting is fragile to say the least - nothing wrong with that, every side goes through rebuilding - noone can lose Dravid (particularly), Laxman, and effectively (& sorrowfully) Tendulkar plus have to carry enigmatic players such as Sehwag and Dhoni. It'll take a long time to replace those quality players and at present you are a long way off.

on December 6, 2012, 19:15 GMT

Cook is simply amazing .... too good for Indians to handle....as far as Dhoni is concerned his test future looks bleak....

on December 6, 2012, 19:14 GMT

There shud be a test series between bangla nd india. Im sure bangla will outclass this indian team. No bowlers no batsmen nd fielding is as good as it ever has been. Indian players have no hunger to win matches for their country nd they are playing to just prolongtheir petty ipl contracts. Their thinking is to play one good innings to stay in team for ten more matches.

PGSGimson
on December 6, 2012, 19:06 GMT

Hira1, there are still 3 full days left! Bit early to write it off for a draw. If England do get a lead then the run rate will definitely improve - its what naturally happens in an innings (unless you have a Sehwag). Either side could win it from here but India will have to play very well.

The game is there for England to lose

Omarrz
on December 6, 2012, 19:00 GMT

India in tests suck big time! This England team was whitewashed just recently by another Asian team. And that team had Strauss and Morgan, much better batsmen than Compton and Samit. You need bowlers to win Test matches and batsmen to win limited overs games.

mrmonty
on December 6, 2012, 19:00 GMT

Anyone still betting on the 4-0 whitewash? The Indian test team is disgrace. It ought to be disbanded.

willsrustynuts
on December 6, 2012, 18:59 GMT

Awesome display from Chef. So pleased I have been able to see the boy develop into a man and now into a LEGEND. So much more to come.

Not sure that Andrew Strauss has 'not been missed'. If he had not retired and was in form Strauss would have scored big runs against this attack.

Cpt.Meanster
on December 6, 2012, 18:56 GMT

If some of my fellow Indian supporters think we can come out of this hole, then really we ought to be the craziest bunch on this planet. India have dug themselves such a huge CRATER that it will take another 3 years to get back on track. England have increased the pace at which Indian cricket is declining. India ARE the NEW West Indies. Indians, get ready for one of the biggest declines of the century. In test cricket, India are FINISHED. I expect them to drop down to no.7 in the rankings in the coming years. It's better we stick to ODIs and T20s where we are much better. It's better to build upon your strengths than address the weakness. That's always been my philosophy in life and it has served me well. Test cricket in India is finished !

CricketingStargazer
on December 6, 2012, 18:49 GMT

@Vishnu, the operative phrase there is ïf India can...". Not too much evidence of that kind of ability (or fight) from them recently.

crindex
on December 6, 2012, 18:47 GMT

Seems like only yesterday we finished touring England and lost 4-0. Very flat bowling attack. Poor fielding and awful batting by the top order. India is too much in defensive mindset when pushed back. India needs to take the attack to the opposition and be positive. That's is the ONLY winning strategy in this series for India.

Cpt.Meanster
on December 6, 2012, 18:41 GMT

Can't see how India can come back into this game OR this series from here on. Anyway, advanced congratulations to Cookie and his England team for YET another win in India. England looking good for their first series win in 27 years in India. As far as India go, well there is a CANCER plaguing Indian cricket which sadly MANY Indians fail to see including the BCCI and the players. The basic system needs a SHAKE UP. There are no plans, no vision, no innovation, no dynamics, NOTHING in place to address the problems facing Indian cricket. It's all about individuals within a team. The cricketing culture of India needs to change. I cannot see India being a genuine TEST team any more. Test cricket in India will be over following this series loss.

Andanio
on December 6, 2012, 18:40 GMT

Indian Team is missing a killer instinct! Well to begin, they never had one but most of the times they won matches riding on the backs of individual performances. This England team reminds me of Aussies when they were top of the charts. Both these teams are trained to identify weak link in the opposition and then using that to put pressure on them. Unfortunately, in the present Indian team there are too many weak links, bowling, SRT's form, failure of remaining batsmen and weird tactics by the coaching staff. Flat track bullies are getting thrashed in their backyards. This suggests only one thing- if India wants to win they have to improve their game in all areas.

A.Ak
on December 6, 2012, 18:39 GMT

Talking about bowling, first talking about batsman. Stats: MSDhoni -2 tons in two years. Sehwag -1 ton in two years. Gauti- NO ton in two years. Yuvi - NO ton in a long time. Sachin - NO ton in nearly two years. Kholi -1 ton in his career. How on earth India will think about test win?.

Well done Cooky.It is another great century.Now make it a real big one and then the pressure can really be piled on top of India. Great teams destroy other teams and if this team wants to be great then they need to grind India into the dust.

Too often English teams show a lack of ruthlessness and feel sorry for the other team. destroy the other team

kc69
on December 6, 2012, 18:26 GMT

I can clearly see the absence of Dravid and Laxman in Indian batting lineup...Bowling as usual is dull and non-aggressive.

two must omitions from this side M.S.Dhoni & Ishant Sharma.... Get in W Saha and Sandeep Sharma let us not have cricket team of India not a Cement company...

EverybodylovesSachin
on December 6, 2012, 18:18 GMT

Main difference between the two team is bowling. England persistently bowled good line length and keep attacking in the last two test. India is going to loose this match.

nilb
on December 6, 2012, 18:07 GMT

@bhrangi Poor guy still hasn't waken up yet. Even after all this. Are you kidding me? India still better in one day cricket? LOL

MOHDsarfaraz
on December 6, 2012, 18:05 GMT

give captaincy to gambhir,replace virat kohli,viru,sharma by manoj, rahane, pathan just give them a chance,bcoz it will must be better than previous ones r doing,, its time to think different bcci, or give me a chance if u can give chance to sharma i have more desperation than him and talent u'll see it inshah Allah,jai Hind

nilb
on December 6, 2012, 18:04 GMT

@bhrangi I'm sorry man India is certainly not the best team in the subcontinent. Not even second best. Guess again. There's only one team with flat track bully batsmen and bad fast bowlers in the subcontinent and it's India.

BoseDeeKay
on December 6, 2012, 18:00 GMT

The blind followers/fans of Indian cricket need to wake up and do a reality check. Perhaps this is a wakeup call. The Indian team lacks the baisc principles & ethics requisite of test cricket and mostly rides on emotions and the luck factor. I feel the current Indian cricket does not learn from their mistakes and are simply a lethargic bunch of pretentious magnamonious personalities with little or no credibilty.

test_cricket_is_real_cricket
on December 6, 2012, 18:00 GMT

dont forget this is still an indian team playing in india... you never know, england might be 350 all out, and with tendulkar getting some runs under is belt, and england batting last , make for an interesting finish... it all depends in the first 2 sessions tomorrow morning....

JustIPL
on December 6, 2012, 17:54 GMT

India are basically searching for two drawn games to keep it tied at 1-1. History is recalling itself as in west indies before the whitwashes where India did not enforce a win which Dhoni would have wanted the way he fights but for BCCI. Now the effort is being made to get false satisfaction by switching to flat track to keep home stats good somehow which points to a steady slide. India body language is already down so talking about a turnaround is a far cry anyway.

TommytuckerSaffa
on December 6, 2012, 17:54 GMT

Really poor from India, like watching a club cricket side with someones dad playing (SRT). India's batting was poor including SRT scratchy knock. England need to be more aggressive in their batting and get the runs per over up to 4 runs/ over to get a result here, otherwise it will be a dull draw. For India its too many flat tracks, too much IPL not enough pitches that offer assistance for batsmen and bowlers. Listening to Srivanstan of the BCCI its easy to understand the position they find themselves in. Denial, Denial, Denial.

johnathonjosephs
on December 6, 2012, 17:52 GMT

And this is what happens when the fans call for the retirement of some of their most valued players. Indian fans, you dug your own grave. I can see England winning 2-1

Silverbails
on December 6, 2012, 17:52 GMT

Oh dear, oh dear. It looks like Cookie is playing the hapless Indians COMPLETELY out of this Test Match. With just 2 days gone, there's ONLY 2 POSSIBLE results NOW: either an England victory (which, is looking more and more likely!!) OR a draw (which is looking LESS and LESS likely with this woefully inadequate "attack"). What's happened to "home advantage" and the spin attack? Well, I'll tell you whats' happened: sadly, too much ODI and T20 IPL cricket that's what!! As I've said before, Test Cricket in its purest form NEEDS patience, and I'm afraid the Indians simply have NONE of that at this time!! The English team on the other hand, led by their skipper, have shown an abundance of this!! Result of this match 2 - 1 to England, with maybe a day to spare, UNLESS a Modern - Day miracle happens!! Sadly, this is NOT going to happen, as there's no legendary Rahul Dravid or V.V.S. Laxman in the team, anymore!!

on December 6, 2012, 17:52 GMT

I do not know if sreesanth has actually got an injury or was he being deliberately kept out. He would have made this match alive. Also I thought we needed Ajankya Rahane and Manoj Tiwary instead of Sehwag and Yuvi.

on December 6, 2012, 17:49 GMT

The way it looks right now, england will bat the whole day tommorow and get a 200+ lead and declare just after lunch on day 4 with a lead of 350(if kp fires). Day 4 and 5, the pitch cracks and assists spinners and India will stare at innings defeat. the only way above scenario can be landslided is by taking some quick English wickets by taking new ball immediately. Any lead of more than 100 means england win this test .

YorkshirePudding
on December 6, 2012, 17:41 GMT

@maximum6, another 19 days and he'll be 28, still a great achievement, and I believe the Aussies in 2005 pointed him out as being one to watch when they played Essex in an inter-test game, where he scored a Double ton against them, I think McGrath bowled in that game as well.

on December 6, 2012, 17:40 GMT

This was expected from India long before the series started. Even in England and Australia last year there was no tooth in Batting and Bowling. However who cares since India is more focused on T20 and not Test Cricket. Good that IPL is few months away so people can forget this by the time it starts.

kitten
on December 6, 2012, 17:38 GMT

India without Ganguly, Kumble, Rahul, and VVS, are a shadow of the original team, and rebuilding should start immediately after this series. Firstly, Dhoni should be relieved of the Test captaincy, so he can concentrate on his w/keeping, and batting which has suffered(except this last innings). Maybe Gautam Gambhir can take over, for a series or two, and if he fails as well, then one of the youngsters, Pujara, Kohli, or Ukmukt Chand can take over the mantle. Zaheer and Ishant should be retired, and Yadav, and a few other pacemen introduced. Rahane, and Tiwari should be given their chance, and Sehwag, and Yuvi told to perform in the next few months, or they are off. Ashwin should be given time off, and Rahul Sharma and a host of other young spinners should be drafted in. Drastic action needs to be taken if Test cricket in India is to be taken seriously. This Indian team looks like the 'laughing stock' of the major teams in the world. Action before it's too late.

on December 6, 2012, 17:36 GMT

Evil thoughts:

Is Fletcher passing on information to his beloved country?

Does India want to kill test Cricket and play only the IPL?

Why is such a poor team still the same since 2011 WC win?

Yes I agree that the English have prepared well. But it is just that Indian players are over rated. Dhoni's pet Ravindra Jadeja is missing though.

Lack of trying and disinterest is hard to take. If they fight at least it is ok.

reyad.nabi
on December 6, 2012, 17:35 GMT

I appreciate what Indian Cricket board did for this test series.They didn't give any spinner for the practice match. immediately they got the result.they won the first test.after that..we all know what happen.My suggestion to indian cricket board is that...play just 1 test with the team like england,australia an southafrica. Other than they will slap u everytime they play with your team...\

GreenTeam-Elite
on December 6, 2012, 17:35 GMT

Surprising Performance by Lions at Home...Now World Cricket Can Say English Team is Test No. 1...

Dravid_Pujara_Gravitas
on December 6, 2012, 17:35 GMT

Well played England. I'm not surprised that Indian selectors didn't change the personnel for this test. I would be surprised if England didn't win this series 3-1. We wouldn't have won at Ahmedabad had Monty played there. Once again, thanks to Cook for his special classes to the Indian players and selectors. What a knock! God bless him. What a proud Brit! What a proud cricketer! He definitely won many hearts on this tour.

Game_Gazer
on December 6, 2012, 17:22 GMT

This match is gone from India's hands for good, and Dhoni's term will end this series, and should rightly so, he's tired and not delivering !
and Sachin ?! well..you never know

GeorgeWBush
on December 6, 2012, 17:22 GMT

England are in a strong position. They will hope to reach Lunch tomorrow level with India's first innings and with 7-8 wickets in hand.
The pitch will deteriorate and become harder to bat on as the match continues so England will want to post a score big enough to ensure they don't have to bat again. They'll want 600+ by tea on the 4th day. It's possible but a long way off right now. If India bowl well and get through the main England batsmen then this match will be far from over.

SirViv1973
on December 6, 2012, 17:21 GMT

@maf17, Although Aus series with Ind will be interesting I wouldn't write Ind off just yet. The main reason Eng are doing so well is that we have 2 top operators in the spin department. Sadly for Aus there dosen't seem to be one let alone 2. l would warn against doing what we did in the 1st test & picking 3 seamers a main spinner & a part time spinner such as steve smith. You will need to find another main spin option and quickly having seen Doherty he certainly won't be the answer, not sure what ever happen to Hauritz he did a steady job when he was in possession. I hear Steve O'keefe's name regularly mentioned by oz fans but I have never seen him and can't believe he is that good as he's been around for a while & hasn't ever been picked & Lyon isn't exactly a standoutat the moment. Is there anyone else in the shield at present who might fit the bill?

Samdanh
on December 6, 2012, 17:18 GMT

With two incorrect not out decisions when India were batting, which enabled India to add about 80 odd runs (Tendulkar and Yuvi) and today's decision when England were batting (to Compton) - this is the third wrong decision against England just with one innings complete and the second innings of the entire match is not evan half way through. Now you know why DRS is not required in and by India and BCCI

chrisu
on December 6, 2012, 17:18 GMT

Interesting comment from Hira 1 about Cook`s century " these innings can never won a match for the team". Did he watch the last test? who anchored the innings with a fine century? who won? Also a few of our Australian friends may remember Cook scoring centuries for the winning side.

johnathonjosephs
on December 6, 2012, 17:14 GMT

Pujara, Pujara, Pujara.... Drops cook on 17. Relatively easy but a bit low. Sehwag or Tendulkar could have easily taken it

Malret
on December 6, 2012, 17:12 GMT

India needs some serious retrospective thinking to do. Sachin is not the only problem in this team. What about Gambhir? How can someone not score a test century in three years and still be part of a Test team. He is not concerned but the selectors should be. What about Sehwag? Yuvraj?? Really, in a test team. Common man. I think there is corruption in selection as well in the India team. Consider this, a man averaging 34 in test cricket considered a batting mainstay to provide solidity to the middle order. Averages dont lie. It is a measure of your performance on an average. The back ups Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina who cannot play bouncers and are considered the future. Zaheer Khan's strike rate is 60 in the last year. It is a pity that India with such cricketing madness and BCCI sitting on a pot gold of money cannot find talent/hard working individuals. I think BCCI's main goal is to earn money from television rights etc., not promoting cricket! and what's with not allowing DRS??

The_bowlers_Holding
on December 6, 2012, 17:11 GMT

Cook is fulfilling the promise he showed as a youngster, and illustrates why England stuck with him when he had a sticky spell, he has now scored 5 centuries against India and only one has been in England. Hira1 on (December 06 2012, 16:27 PM GMT) - there are 3 full days left, if England can bat for all of day 3 and some of day 4 they will have a commanding position (250-300 lead) and put Indian in on a pitch that will be seriously deteriorating; to critisize the strike rate seems strange this is a 5 day test match not an ODI/T20. As I have previously mentioned I like Compton he has a solid, sound technique and will be a more than competent player then again I suppose he isn't English enough despite being the grandson of an English cricket icon. Thank you India for helping England restore the verve that had started to wane over the last 12 months.

vickybng9
on December 6, 2012, 17:10 GMT

i think now we are really missing dravid, ganguly, laxman and kumble............

vipravara
on December 6, 2012, 17:10 GMT

Hats off, Mr. Cook. There can't be any better example than you for "leading from the front". Your performane was simply more than awesome as it came when the series was advertised as a revenge for 0-4 loss in UK with rank turners. Though you were downed in the 1st test, you brought your team to the level of a possible series win against India is simply laudable.
The only two questions for Indian team are: Can the bowlers redeem themselves on 3rd day to restrict England lead to 50-60 runs?! Wheteher that happens or not, is there a Faf du Plessis in Indian team NOW to salvage a draw from here?! May be way too much to ask for?!- a cricket lover from India.

Noroz
on December 6, 2012, 17:09 GMT

Cook has been an inspiration for the English team. India needs Somone like him to perform in a matching way and set their course for a strong comeback. At the moment, Indians look totally out of sorts.

phoenixsteve
on December 6, 2012, 17:07 GMT

Another great a very professional display from England and congratulations to Alastair Cook - what a captain! The target must be 650+ and we'll see what India are made of after 2 1/2 days in the field. A victory in this test would be something to celebrate but it's nit over yet. England will need a significant lead as the pitch is likely to get worse and they don't want to bat last or chase any decent total. India look flat and talentless - especially in the bowling/fielding department. It will be great if KP can put on a show and accelerate the scoring but for now the Cook/trott grinding machine can at least level the scores. The prospect of Bell, KP and Prior giving it a bash is an exciting one but they'll need to build their innings and come to terms with this dead track. Tomorrow is the day to bury India or will it be the day that India stage a fightback? Can't wait and this is test cricket at it's atritional best! COME ON ENGLAND!!!

SachinRao
on December 6, 2012, 17:04 GMT

The worst test performance as far as my memory can take me. Never seen India suffer at Home in such helpful conditions. And against England??Duncan Fletcher had to go like yesterday. Sandeep Patil & Co. wake up and smell the coffee. Stop warming your seats and take some tough decisions. Drop all spinners (They are reading Ojha quite well). Go for Nadeem, Chawla/Mishra & 1 all rounder like Jalaj Saxena (we get 3 spin varieties). Get in Rahane, Jiwanjyot and Unmukt and rest Sehwag, Yuvraj and Virat. In the long term, test captaincy should also be discussed. Shock the poms.

subbass
on December 6, 2012, 17:03 GMT

England will win this game. The Indians are hopeless. What will happen is Cook and Trott will bat sensible till lunch then play shots, then as and when they get out all it takes is 3 or 4 quick 40's or 50's for us to have 55o on the board and by then the pitch should be wearing and India will be about 250 behind. So every chance we will thrash them by an innings. Goodnight India, thanks for coming !

twww
on December 6, 2012, 17:03 GMT

To the poster who said Cooks hundreds have never won a game for the team- thats a good one. Check out his 294 last year against India and his later two hundreds in the Ashes in 2010-11: guess which side won those games?

Jester01
on December 6, 2012, 17:02 GMT

I'm not a fan of either of these two teams but England is really playing some excellent cricket. India was so confident of winning this series (a whitewash might I add), that they now look stunned. Their arrogance is costing them - What will their new excuse be I wonder? They do have some good news though - they don't have to worry about receiving another series whitewash.

Stark62
on December 6, 2012, 16:59 GMT

Everyone thought Eng were hopeless against spin after the UAE tour but the truth is, they had to contend with genuinely world class bowlers and the other not in the same class but the equal Ashwin, which meant they were facing the best spin attack in the world.

Eng proved they can handle spin well, when they coasted to victory against SL and in the t20 against Ind, Eng didn't have Cook, Compton, Trott, KP, Bell, Prior and even Patel.

It's a great shame, that people don't give credit where its due!!

Desihungama
on December 6, 2012, 16:53 GMT

It's a shame India has to still rely upon Sachin, after all these light years. As for the bowling, you reap what you sow. @ maximum6 - Yes, [That] summer of 2010. Pak bowlers had their number. Amir/Asif bowled beautifully one for the history. That Oval innings changed all for Cook.

SevereCritic
on December 6, 2012, 16:52 GMT

So, Ganguly took the Indians from 8 to 2 (behind the indomitable Aussies). And Dhoni is making sure that they end up back in 8 after his tenure as captain is over. I dont think India can beat anyone except Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, WI and NZ and I doubt they can beat the latter two in their backyard. Dhoni's body language as a skipper is deplorable. Learn from Smith. Anyone can have a bad day in Test Cricket. Instead of capitulating Indian style, learn to rub it off and fight back like the SAFFERS.

voma
on December 6, 2012, 16:50 GMT

If anything the captaincy has improved Alastair Cook batting ! . We all know he can dominate weak bowling attacks , and this India line up is certainly that . Next year he will be passed Gooches record .

PPL11
on December 6, 2012, 16:48 GMT

Ok, Every non India fan at moment is going crazy at moment, wo wo man understand this Indian team is in transition phase at moment so no matter if we loose series or 2 in time, most important thing here is how quickly we can grew young blood....

jango_moh
on December 6, 2012, 16:45 GMT

well played again cook!!! this guy is awesome.... as an indian fan, i kept saying before the series that this is the best chance for eng to try and win, bcos the batting is weak after vvs/dravid... so its all new guys except tendulkar, and gambhir/sehwag r not in great form... and zaheer is past his prime!!! but i think this is good for indian cricket.... lets get all young blood in, hve a complete overhaul and start fresh!!!

on December 6, 2012, 16:43 GMT

i think drop dhoni,kohli,yuvraj,zaheer from test cricket if possible give one year captaincy to either Gambir or Sewag. or else try with one new captain from ranji teams.

on December 6, 2012, 16:43 GMT

@itsthewayuplay, I liked ur comment "More important than the result is that Tendulkar scored half-century". That's what the mentality of Indian whether India lose this match or win all commentators are busy praising Tendulkars Half Ton.

on December 6, 2012, 16:38 GMT

i dont think its stil over yet... no doubt english r in frount... stil if ind can restrict them 2 a 100 run lead nd score 350 in the 2nd innings... it cud b a cracker of a contest....

on December 6, 2012, 16:37 GMT

Apart from getting a gift wicket India had nothing to cheer. I thing our players highly over rated. We have only 2-3 quality test batsmen in the team. Apart from that we have nothing. Our bowler are even worst than the Bangladeshi bowlers. Lastly the quality of cook. Now I am big fan of him. Currently he is the best quality batsman in the world. No question about it.

aryan-is-dravid-fan
on December 6, 2012, 16:37 GMT

@ binojpeter - I havent heard of any slip-fielding credentials that Pujara might have. So it is not so much the "new generation" to blame in my opinion. The question to be asked is, why did the captain put him there? And also, why not Sehwag or Tendulkar in that position?

Do not trust what you believe so-called experts to say completely. I havent heard too many of these experts question Dhoni about the bowling, batting, and decisions. Last I checked, the captain was the one answerable for the whole team. (as opposed to "he has to work with what he is given").

deol84
on December 6, 2012, 16:34 GMT

Poor show by indian players specially Mr Dhoni done nothing to take wickets,could've try yuvraj or sehwag.I think india is given up showing no fight,well its look like 3-1 to england.why bcci not calling kumble to come out of retirement and teach IPL jokers to bowl spin bowling.

Sinhaya
on December 6, 2012, 16:34 GMT

Compton was totally unlucky as he gloved it. No wonder BCCI opposes DRS! England should have been 250 for 0 today at stumps. So sad to see England the victim of bad umpiring.

itsthewayuplay
on December 6, 2012, 16:32 GMT

Could these group of Indian players be the most overpaid sports people ever? I'm using sports people in the broadest sense of the word, of course.

Hira1
on December 6, 2012, 16:27 GMT

wicket is placid and if england keep on batting like same strike rate this match will head for a draw, result is only possible if cook/trott get out in the morning and either Pietersen or Prior make a quick century. Cook did played another great innings but these innings can never won a match for the team, a double hundred from Cook or hundred from trott can only result in draw for england.

on December 6, 2012, 16:27 GMT

Team BCCI only believe in the pitch not on themself.... Simple

shantacricket
on December 6, 2012, 16:26 GMT

Indian performance in d field was poor.There is hardly any hunger for performing well.The guys who got selected dont deserve to be.This is called India where people dont get what they deserve to be.Your place in the indian team is not permanent if you are not from Mumbai,delhi or chennai.Ashok Dinda who did so well in d ranji trophy but still did nt get chance in this indian team to paly.Same for Mano Tiwary.
If selecters will choose team on d basis of states then Indian team cant perform better.There is no point of Tendulacar to continue as well.He was in the same team which lost 8-0 in the abroad and he is still in the team ? What a joke.....

Robofk
on December 6, 2012, 16:25 GMT

Hey Now i know why Dhoni said Zaheer is the sachin of bowling he has bowling avg of 100. Sachins has scored many 100s...LOL.

on December 6, 2012, 16:23 GMT

India was poor. There is NO threat among their bowlers.

aryan-is-dravid-fan
on December 6, 2012, 16:22 GMT

@ binojpeter - I havent heard of any slip-fielding credentials that Pujara might have. So it is not so much the "new generation" to blame in my opinion. The question to be asked is, why did the captain put him there? And also, why not Sehwag or Tendulkar in that position?

Do not trust what you believe so-called experts to say completely. I havent heard too many of these experts question Dhoni about the bowling, batting, and decisions. Last I checked, the captain was the one answerable for the whole team. (as opposed to "he has to work with what he is given").

Maxyboy_123
on December 6, 2012, 16:18 GMT

The glaring problem India have is there openers. Gambhir averages 31 over the last three years!! I can't think of any other country that would keep somebody out of form in the side for so long. As for Shewag, he isn't the player of 2010. In the last two years he averages 30! As for his century against England, that wicket was the flattest of any session so far on this tour. He also looks unfit which really winds me up. It was no surprise that the run out was between those two! I would also get a new captain. I admire Dhoni, but do me a favour. It seems like he plays cricket everyday of the year. It wouldn't be that bad if he just batted, but captain/wk/batsman? I love India and love Indian cricket but when are they going to except that changes need making? Yes it may mean a few years of transition but the longer it takes to be addressed the longer this going to go on for.

mintball
on December 6, 2012, 16:10 GMT

MY VIEW is that IPL has spoiled our players. Congrats IPL for providing SUCH a good Test Cricket Team for India! I RECOMMEND THAT PLAYERS FOR TEST TEAM MUST NOT BE SELECTED BASED UPON THEIR IPL PERFORMANCE. I have a few options: Abhishek Nayar, Kaul brothers, Amit Mishra, Yashpal Singh, Badrinath, Ajinkya Rahane, Dogra, Jivanjot Singh, Pankaj Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Nadeem, Manoj Tiwary, Shami Ahmed, etc. Perhaps they may be lacking experience, but they are excelling in domestic circuit. Why not give them some chances now and then in International matches? I think Yuvraj, Ashwin, Kohli must have some more practice in domestic matches. Recent performances from Zaheer, Dhoni, Sachin are getting gloomy. Why blaming only bowlers in this series? What about batsmen? Ashwin is standing 4th among Indians who scored most runs in this series. There is not even a single good partnership from Indians in these series. What is the Coach & Selection Committee doing? But Dhoni must lead our test team!

on December 6, 2012, 16:09 GMT

Spineless as usual that's what hurting as many Indian fans like me. We need fight to show their spirit to stay at the wicket. Why Indian batsmen don't play sweep shot to the spinners while all visiting teams use it as weapon against Indian spinners? why Indian bowlers don't vary their pace or Yorker other than Umesh Yadav to some extent? Simple answer is Poor Quality of batsmenship and bowling.Waiting for the opposite team to do something different not doing different to force opposite to do different. My gosh I worried now about the Aussie tour India who has much better bowlers than Eng. God bless Indian Cricket.

Front-Foot-Lunge
on December 6, 2012, 16:09 GMT

@maf17, You forgetting that Australia are currently one of the world's minnow teams. India are being beaten by a rampant England back from a year's hiatus.

Scube
on December 6, 2012, 15:59 GMT

So, Pujara is already getting a taste of Sachin's life and how frivolous a cricketer's success be! Was the darling of Indian fans for two weeks and rightly so, but is already turning out to be a villain! Hope, he flourishes in the 2nd innings as he is the only genuinely hardworking and likeable young Indian player out there! He is so impressive, I just can't curse him for the costly drop!

AlfAlpha
on December 6, 2012, 15:59 GMT

England should have ditched the green tops and prepared real turning wickets against South Africa last Summer - with Panesar and Swann in tandem we could have beaten them and still been Number One in the World!!

Iamforu
on December 6, 2012, 15:54 GMT

Another wonderful innings from Cook. Indian spinner must learn from Ajmal and Rehman that they both bowled correct line and length. Indian spinner are targeting pads and Andy Flower thought English player How to sweep. Indian coach Fletcher is seating and enjoying time. He must show them Pakistan-England series videos and how they restrict England on 100.

BravoBravo
on December 6, 2012, 15:53 GMT

@maximum6: I am in total agreement with you. Mr. Cook is a prolific batsman. When you mentioned UAE (ENG vs PAK), ofcourse it was a night mare for ENG. That is the difference of attitude in teams like PAK, ENG, SA while IND attitude is that they write off every team even before the series starts. Before getting whitewashed the IND fans, and columnist like Monga were predicting that IND will pulverize ENG in ENG , the failed to win even one single match, not even T20. Before, the current series they were dreaming to crush ENG in their home (IND) condition. It is becoming a nightmare for IND now.

on December 6, 2012, 15:52 GMT

I understand the Indian disappointment / worry / frustration and they are definitely below par but I also think it is merit to England, ever since the Ashes 2009 we have just been mentally so strong, and Cook, Trott, Pietersen, Prior, Jimmy, Swann are so consistent. We have had our downs like Pakistan in the UAE or South Africa at home where we were outplayed and toothless but I think that off-field distractions came into play. I sincerely hope India find there way back just as Australia have, test cricket needs a strong India, as it needs West Indies, Australia, England and South Africa to be firing on all cylinders.

on December 6, 2012, 15:52 GMT

weldone team england . it seems to me that cook will post another 200 then india will give a small lead so that englad can win by 10 wickets .

brusselslion
on December 6, 2012, 15:48 GMT

Still, work to be done but England are one decent day (300 runs) away from winning this Test and possibly the series.

BTW: Dhoni must be the worst Test captain for the past 30 years.

usernames
on December 6, 2012, 15:45 GMT

I think there comes a time when you are no longer good enough. For India, that time is now. I'm behind them completely; just start building a team. Take decisions, try and bring in some energy. I'm fine with losses, but please put in some efforts. Please.

on December 6, 2012, 15:43 GMT

I think Pujara is a certainty in the Tests for India. He should be saddled with captaincy too and we need to get rid of MSD from the captaincy.Kohli can be considered for captaincy but he too needs to prove his worth in the test team. Also, we need to dump Duncan Fletcher and bring in some innovative thinking by hiring Shane Warne to be the coach for the Indian team and be its task master.

Sinhaya
on December 6, 2012, 15:39 GMT

Well played England once again. Looking forward to double tons by both KP and Cook tomorrow and hopefully England will declare at 600 by day 4. England simply has done superbly after the UAE debacle. Cook is no doubt the man who can break Sachin Tendulkar's record. Congratulations England from a Sri Lankan fan.

jvrags
on December 6, 2012, 15:38 GMT

To call the Indian attack toothless would be an understatement. Ashwin is the fastest to 50 test wickets from India but has gone through a horrid time since the second innings at Ahmedabad. Zaheer was expected to outperform Anderson in reverse swing just like the Indian spinners were expected to outperform their England counterparts. In the last two weeks we have seen England bat better against spin than India, bowl better spin than India and outperform with their pace attack as well now. There is no hiding anywhere. Time the selectors made some bold decisions for the fourth test - first drop Dhoni as captain and get a new spinner in place of Ashwin - Badrinath or Manoj Tiwari deserve a look in the middle order and blood some young pacers as well. Even if they lose 3-1 to England (which looks very realistic now) they can hopefully do better against the Aussies with the new look team. They look a very tired team now. We fans are getting desperate for a better show by this team.

on December 6, 2012, 15:33 GMT

I am sad to see Indian cricketers outplayed by English. bad bowling, fielding, batting and running. I think they should concentrate on fitness. Tendulkar being 39 can run better than many in the playing 11. Pujara dropped a sitter. Sehwag made a blunder. Ashwin can't run. We failed in every department

yoohoo
on December 6, 2012, 15:33 GMT

@maf17 - Actually, the problem india is facing is monty panesar. Until he came to the picture, india were on top of the series. He is making that crucial difference to a batting that is fragile. Indian bowling has always been ordinary, nothing new there. Australian batting is good, but their bowling is lacking quality spinners. So, they are going to have a tough time getting a win here. They could probably draw the series though.

Durga
on December 6, 2012, 15:33 GMT

All the blame is on selection of players who are not upto mark:E.g Ashwin dont know how to bowl at one place continuously but he is in the team becoz he is part of CSK. same case happened with Jadeja who was there with team all tour of australia and Asia cup even though he has not performed because he needed match practice for IPL because he was bought for 2Millon$.After IPL he was not seen any where.Harbhajan the senior bowler was not given enough support and taken as 3rd spinner and blowed only half overs as ashwin. The Egos of representing and winning different IPL teams Gambhir and Shewag increasing as once dhoni said he cant have 3 slow fielders in team.IPL should once in two years so that these things dont have chance and no champions league strictly

lobsterchampion
on December 6, 2012, 15:31 GMT

Cant bat, cant bowl, cant field - that seems to be the story of the Indian team right now. If they cannot post big totals on their home ground, cannot imagine what will happen to them when they travel to SA next year and play on lightinig fast picthes. India thrived on home pitches largely because ppl like Tendulkar, VVS, Dravid formed a solid batting line up and they could rely on Kumble for rippers on spinning tracks. After Dravid and VVS retiring, there has not been a real replacement for them. Pujara has been good, but India need Kohli to be more consistent and need to find a more stable replacement at number 6. Yuvraj cannot be a long term option at number 6.
I think more than batting, India's bowling is a bigger concern. Ashwin and Ojha yare playing as spinners and they rarely spin the ball. They pose no threat what so ever. Zaheer and Ishant posed some challenge for a few overs, then they looked tired. Fielding was listless.
Lastly, hats off to Cook and Monty.

Dhanno
on December 6, 2012, 15:27 GMT

The well or the lake or the pond or the trickle drum is truly empty. All that these bowlers want to do is bowl 4 overs a game and somehow restrict opposition to 40 runs in those 4 overs. Thats the level of achievement we look for. Harbhajan says that his bowling in tests should be judged by how he bowls below 4 rpo and no one should question him if he delivers that.

Let BCCI chief say what he likes, the youngsters grow up now wanting the IPL glory and tamasha which comes with it. Everything else is secondary. Test cricket needs lot more patience and application and understanding the nuances of situation. No one is capable of that in the current team. The opening batsman loves ball watching, captain just wants his batsman to express themselves and bowlers to do what they like when they bowl. It worked with Kumble, VVS Dravd were around not with clowns.

AllEndsUp
on December 6, 2012, 15:27 GMT

Too much money being made in IPL for most Indian cricketers to put in the effort required to be successful in Test cricket. BCCI should control the players appearances, like other Boards, and if they disagree, ban them from IPL. Otherwise India can join Bangladesh & Zimbabwe at the bottom of the pile.

Biggus
on December 6, 2012, 15:22 GMT

What will the excuse be this time? Blame the curator I guess, anything that helps to shift blame from the players and avoid any uncomfortable introspection. Perhaps the pitch is really a greentop, that seems to be a popular line of thought whenever these 'legends' fail to deliver. All this blame dodging is seeing India becoming the laughing stock of international cricket.

vichan
on December 6, 2012, 15:17 GMT

@ Sundar Subramaniam: "Get real, how many ICC (world cups, champs trophies) tournaments has England won?"......This comment pretty much sums up India's problems. Do you realise that this is a TEST match? Do you also realise that India have won only 115 matches in its history, whereas England have won nearly three times as many at 330? If you look at cricket history as a whole, England probably have the 2nd best record in the game, behind the Australians. India are probably not even in the top 5, sadly...

on December 6, 2012, 15:16 GMT

Can INDIA win at least this Test match........?. Captain should be like Graeme Smith of SA or Alistair Cook of England but not like the MS DHONI in test matches where in he can't even bat for a long time. When every one plays he also plays and scores more but when the top order fails he cant handle the situation. INDIA need new captain for Tests. England bowlers can spin the ball and take the wickets then y can't INDIAN bowlers? There is no perfect pace attack for INDIA since long time. Irfan Pathan should be given chance instead of Ishant Sharma or Dinda. He can be good option even for batting. Why don't Dhoni give a chance to part-time bowlers like Sehwag, Kohli, Yuvi. They got used to play our bowlers with ease.

on December 6, 2012, 15:16 GMT

Gavaskar, Dravid, VVS, Jaffer, Badrinath etc are all pure test class players. India had produced players of test calibre in the past. We still do, like Rahane, & Tiwari. Unfortunately excessive commercialization of cricket incentivised test players to adapt to suit the short format. Even Dravid & VVS were forced to, by circumstances.

Destroying test class players is only one edge of the double edged sword, cutting into the gentle body of test cricket. The other cutting edge is the fact that we keep on pushing great players of the short format into the test teams, totally neglecting the test calibre players. Rahane's frustration on the one hand, and Kohli's (to some extent Yuvi's too) travails on the other symbolise this -- India bleeding with self inflicted wounds with this double-edged sword.

Let us pray for the badly wounded Indian test cricket's healing and speedy recovery. Hope, timely remedies will save us all from writing painful obituaries! Amen.

jb633
on December 6, 2012, 15:14 GMT

@TommytuckerSaffa- I think you raise an excellent point but it goes not just for India. From an outside perspective India have a fixation with batting and every loss seems to be blamed on the batsmen. If India concede 600 and have to follow on after getting 390 the fans will blame the batsmen. In India the doctoring of the pitches has masked the inadequcies for a few years and they have normally had success with decent spinners.
In England and SA to an extent we have historically had problems with finding good spinners. Both Eng and SA have a fear of bowling spinners in club cricket (having played both) and it seems like in a pressure situation captains would always rather rely on an average medium pace bowler rather than a decent spinner. India junior coaches need to understand the value of developing good seamers, even if this means the short term results are not as good. SA should also try and develop a proper spinner, so that when touring Asia they are even more effective.

BravoBravo
on December 6, 2012, 15:13 GMT

As an avid cricket follower, it always apalls me how Indian sport columnist, and fans always criticize their own bowling unit. Notwithstanding the fact, in recent years even NZ, BD, ZIM are making 400+ run in an inning of test matches regularly. IND makes 300 in once a BLUE MOON, people (Indian) think that their batsmen are just the best and phenomenal. Wake up guys, if you can't play longest form of the game, your IPL will die soon. Ironically, IND even can't play or win T20 games.
About the aging record holder SRT, IND with or without him, will remain the same mediocre team (Check the two consecutive whit washes, SRT was there). IND has the worst WIN to LOSS ratio in tests, and ODI's of all the major test playing nation (excludiing NZ). Accept that fact IND has always been a mediocre team, 80 years of history. Their test status must be revoked.

PrasPunter
on December 6, 2012, 15:07 GMT

@ maf17 , as an Aussie fan, i would love to see Aus winning in india. But the
truth is that, Eng has got a very solid top order, a consistent and
proven seam attack and 2 very good spinners, who can take wickets
when a pitch like the one in Mumbai is served. Whats the case with Aus ? The
top-order is next to brittle, the seamers are hardly consistent . And Nathan
Lyon cant take a wicket even on the fifth day at Adelaide when the conditions
are supposed to favor him. I dont see any realistic chance of Aus achieving
even 50% of what Eng has done here . Would love to be proved wrong though. !!

Kashi0127
on December 6, 2012, 15:01 GMT

Actually Congratulations to Indian Cricket Board. They did not agree for the latest technology (DRS or electronic review of decisions) and that helped India get one wicket - that of Compton. Way to go BCCI!

PinkElephant
on December 6, 2012, 15:01 GMT

I'm a big India fan...but i really hope India loses. This will be the knock in the head that they need, because lets face it, India's strength is the batting and if the batsman don't perform then we lose...the batsman havent performed in the last 2 test matches on pitches favoring the batsman especially on day 1 and 2...we need some major changes in the lineup. First, Dhoni needs to relieve himself of captain duty and from test matches. I predict India will lose this test match too.

jb633
on December 6, 2012, 14:56 GMT

@Maddy20 and Gupta.Ankar- where are the comments from you guys. This series was supposed to be a 4-0 revenge for India as we can't play spin wherever we go. I think you forgot to add the word quality before spin. The problem with India in this series is that they just assumed if the track suited spin they could just turn up and the rest would be a formality. The fans looked at our debacle in the UAE and thought it was easy. People overlook the quality of the Pak spinners in those conditions. This is still a great effort by our side as playing in India is as tough as it gets. Indian fans should welcome the contest as it has been years since a genuine contest took place on these shores.
I just find it so funny for that over a year now numerous fans have trolled the English forums digging at the English side whenever possible, assuming that this series would provide them with an opportunity to gloat. Absolutley deserved whipping here, this is all a product of dreadful IPL cricket.

Romenevans
on December 6, 2012, 14:55 GMT

Okay...So we can't win overseas....we can't play swing...we can't play spin and now we can't win at home. Still nothing will be changed. Sehwag scored a century, Gambhir got some runs, Dhoni got runs, Sachin got runs....and the same story goes on and on!

Nampally
on December 6, 2012, 14:55 GMT

I had mentioned in my comments on Day 1 that Sehwag's run out is the turning point of the match. It was further exxacerbated by dropped catch off Cook when he was just 17. Sehwag was well on his way for his Century & was dismissed by Gambhir's error. Today Cook would have been denied off his century but was let off by Pujara. Add these 2 errors - that is the Game, Set & Match!. Lack of intensity - avoid mistakes & win matches.These 2 Indian errors has cost India a possible reversal of Cook & Sehwag's scores!. India can only keep plodding & hope for an early break thru' on Day 3. Dhoni must not let Cook easy runs on his sweep shot by having fielders covering the boundary for spinners. He also needs to convert his deep point boundaries to singles.England at this point are sure to get a 150 run lead & India must ensure that further scoring is made as difficult as possible by cutting out the boundaries on this fast outfield. If Cook gets out early, India have a chance to save the match!

on December 6, 2012, 14:54 GMT

From both sides put together, about 25 international cricketers were on display in this series so far. Verdict: The best Batsman -- Cook. The best Seamer -- Anderson. The best Spinner -- Monty. Unfortunately for India, ALL the THREE happened to be playing for England. Don't even talk about fielding. There are a few passengers in both teams; but the 'players' carried the 'passengers', better in the English camp. It will be a travesty of 'cricketing justice', if India win this series. The first convincing win in India, for a touring England team in decades is on the cards. Quite deserved. Congratulations in advance. (No. I am not English. I am an ardent Indian cricket fan. But credit has to be given where it is due. Unhesitatingly and professionally)

2.14istherunrate
on December 6, 2012, 14:53 GMT

I think it worth saying that here Anderson was back to his best with an mighty fine bowling effort. He has mostly been good in India but here he has been special. Monty too has been revelatory and I hope he gets that next 5wkt haul soon, along with the gangland celebrations. We need to get the 600 which the indian team failed to.

Dravid_Pujara_Gravitas
on December 6, 2012, 14:52 GMT

Well played England. I'm not surprised that Indian selectors didn't change the personnel for this test. I would be surprised if England didn't win this series 3-1. We wouldn't have won at Ahmedabad had Monty played there. Once again, thanks to Cook for his special classes to the Indian players and selectors. What a knock! God bless him. What a proud Brit! What a proud cricketer! He definitely won many hearts on this tour.

Good Job England, Importantly Congratulation to Mr. Alastair Cook one of my favourite batsman (Together with Faf Du Plessis). India never being satisfied with pitch, batting, bowling or even fielding. India have still chance if they can dismiss England by 400 runs otherwise Mr.Mukharjee will be lough to MS Dhoni and England will enjoy a sweet Christmas

on December 6, 2012, 14:48 GMT

Sehwag,s run out is the turning point of this match & we cant blame bowlers,because 316 runs on a flat track are not enough.I think in previous game & even this game batsmen did the worst. Pujara,Kohli Sachin all are in much more defensive mood they had to attack so that bowlers mind can be changed to save runs than taking wickets. but when u try to defense each & every ball then bowler take more chances to get your wicket.
And one thing more i dont think that dhoni can unit indian team as a caption now.So iits time to change the caption.

wolf777
on December 6, 2012, 14:42 GMT

What's the use of Yuvraj Singh in the team? Why can't he bowl? if he is not willing to do 15 to 20 overs per innings, get Ravindra Jadeja in....he has at least shown temperament to play long innings....and if the captain is not willing to give Yuvraj Singh 15-20 overs, change the captain.

on December 6, 2012, 14:39 GMT

too much cricket and T-20 format is making batting style of world known best batting line up in the world against spinners. lolz they dipping down the hole in their own trap. but not only that we should appreciate Cook and his leadership for being the most consistent performer in last 3 decades or so. ENG is looking like a team as they were in early 40 upto late 60's. the main thing why India is losing out is the fitness level and mental toughness as well as test match temperament. i don't think we will ever see Ganguly, Sachin, Dravid, Laxman again in Indian team..but for ENG side Cook is the real wall you say and he proved it thrice in a row..congrats to him..good luck ENG....one more thing to remember that the hungry Aussies will also be eyeing a series clinch in India as they tours in sub continent in Feb-Mar 13

SirViv1973
on December 6, 2012, 14:35 GMT

@Nerk, I don't think anyone in the Eng camp is kidding themselves they will know there is plenty of hard work ahead to secure the win. Personally I don't think Ind are out of this, if they get Cook & then KP early in the morning Eng will be under pressure particularly as Trott, Bell & Samit haven't fired at all during the series. However Eng are clearly in the box seat and I know which side I would rather be on. I think if you offered Dhoni a 100 run first inns defict from here he would bite your arm off, and even that could prove too much for Ind batsman if as many people expect the pitch starts to deteriorate by day 4.

Harmony111
on December 6, 2012, 14:35 GMT

The bowling of Ashwin and Ishant has been really disappointing. Why is Ashwin bowling round the wicket to the RHB when his balls don't turn that much is not clear to me, on top of that he is still not focused on a specific cchannel and tries a bit too much this giving away 4s each time he builds pressure. The same is true for Ishant. It is shameful for him that Zak was bowling faster than him for most part of the day. Ishant bowled several really short balls outside the off stump of RHB and outside the leg stump of LHB or bowled too wide to get any wicket. The result was that relatively good bowling by Zak and then by Ozha went unrewarded and the overall attack looked very mediocre. Eng are in an even better position in this match than they were in Mumbai. India might need another Kolkata 2001 to win or even draw this match. Cook looks like Alexander at the moment, just keeps marching on and on, where is Chandragupta or even Porus of India?

on December 6, 2012, 14:35 GMT

Indian selectors are as toothless as the Circus Tiger...It has been time to make some bold calls which they have not done...the team was declining for awhile but a 50 here or there these ageing stars were kept around when they were way past their due date...Look at the line up Sehwag Gambhir Sachin Yuvraj to this list add Dhoni, Zaheer and no good number 2 pace bowler....Not sure how Indian fans expect the team to win
Pujara and out of form Kohli cannot carry the team...Why is a Rahane or dinda or Pankaj not given a shot at ...what is there to loose???

rahulcricket007
on December 6, 2012, 14:33 GMT

@anil kumar . i fully agree with you . only ganguly can install fighting spirit in this team .make him caoch .

on December 6, 2012, 14:31 GMT

after the test match.......eng won by innings & 30 runs mark my words..

on December 6, 2012, 14:30 GMT

Wel played Cook , seems to be in purple batting patch along with Amla of South Africa . As for India they need one Laxman like performance in Kolkata from any Batsman /Bowler which may change the tone of the series again in there favour . Spinners atleast should consistently bowl on a particular line /length , wickets will come , same for Ishant

tests_the_best
on December 6, 2012, 14:28 GMT

This Indian team is hell-bent on sinking to new lows post world cup. As if the whitewashes weren't enough, India could well lose its first series on home soil in 8 years. Tough times indeed for indian cricket. To be fair to the bowlers though, the pitch indeed looked like a flat-bed which means the main culprit is the indian batting. They should have posted 500+ or 400+ at a minimum on such a belter of a pitch.

Akshita29
on December 6, 2012, 14:26 GMT

@ GrvJPR would you say the same about Sachin who have 33 of his 100 s in flat Asian tracks?. With no disrespect to Sachin on his achievements . By your comment you are trying to indicate this 100 by cook have not much value . Then by your comment Sachin's 33 100s in subcontinent has no value ..... Give respect when its due . This was another masterpiece by Cook leading from the front ......

rahulcricket007
on December 6, 2012, 14:25 GMT

was watching CRICKET EXTRA in the evening when wasim akram made a very good point . he said that india team looks good for the first 20 overs with the new ball but after that their body language was down . he said DHONI 'S BODY LANGUAGE FRUSTATES ME , IF THE CAPTAIN OF SIDE 'S OWN BODY LANGUAGE LOOKS DOWN THEN WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM THE OTHER PLAYERS . IF YOU ARE GIVING UP ON THE SECOND DAY OF TEST THEN HOW CAN YOU WIN . he needs to learn something from ganguly who never gave up . you should show some fighting spirit at least at home .

sukku88
on December 6, 2012, 14:23 GMT

Zero Resistance from Indian team...??!! Cook single handedly demolishing the series for us.. Even our state teams performed well against this English side in practice matches... What's wrong with you guys??? Bring ur lives back to the field..

Nampally
on December 6, 2012, 14:18 GMT

Another disappointing day for India on the field. After Dhoni carried India to a measure of respectability, the bowling failed badly. ZAK & Ishant failed to match Anderson & Finn. Only catch that may have put India back in the game was missed off Cook & he made Pujara pay for it by adding further 117 runs.On a wicket like this, every catch must be taken. The "Run out" of Sehwag now appears bigger than ever! While Indian batsmen felt happy after scoring a 50, Cook is like a scoring machine. He always aims for a double century it appears. He might be the best & most prolific opening batsmen in the world today. He even made Compton & Trott believers in themselves. This is what "leading by example" means. It will be very difficult for India to get back in this test match with their lack of focus, intensity or guts. Out of 75 overs bowled, Why Sehwag & Yuvraj were not given bowling ! Is Yuvraj is UNFIT? Get Jadeja IN who aims for triple Century & bowls like Yuvraj+a brilliant fielder.

SnowSnake
on December 6, 2012, 14:17 GMT

Congratulations to Cook for excellent hundred. Well played England. There is no way India is going to win or even draw this test. Even rain will not be able to save India here. It is funny that people are calling for Tendulkar's retirement when he is the highest scorer of runs. Without him, India should be disqualified from test playing nations.

Andy_Cricket
on December 6, 2012, 14:12 GMT

Totally agree with the title. Both Compton and Cook looked at ease against the Indian bowlers. Still can't understand why Ashwin keeps giving the flight to deliveries, one has to be blind not to see what Panesar and Swann did earlier in the inning and also in previous test. Learn from other's mistakes and also from other's success. Now in addition to absence of quality pace, we have to deal with ineffective slow bowlers as well. Sure as hell we can not win only with bat, that too when batting on such a track can not produce 400+ scores in 'home conditions'. Everyone keeps talking about Sachin but what about Virat, Yuvraj, Sehwag, and last but not the least Dhoni? No one is playing to their level. By Ricky's standard, no one is capable to keep playing at highest level. Oh.. what a Revenge series.

ecricl
on December 6, 2012, 14:12 GMT

when some one supports a team he may be rational or may not be. The press is similar. there is no drum beater country like india for their team. they dnt understand their players ability. they r good in limited version but that limited version stardom is good to earn advertisement contract or IPL core contract but not test players level. selectors persists with limited over wonders in the test side and get the expected result. how long ur yuvi has been in tst team? its been long since his sensational ODI debut vs australia. since then he is a essential part of ODI & t-20 but not test class. ofcourse as u play internatinal level, here and there (particularly in india) u may get a century and drum beater indians are up .......here is the maturity. same goes for kohli........a century in australia after lots of poor showing saves his test spot and all praise is there for him......lol

bridgefort
on December 6, 2012, 14:12 GMT

I'd like to caution fellow England supporters against any of the ungainly gloating lest we're forced to eat our words. I personally felt there was some pretty biased commentary on sky. It does no harm do be gracious with opposition. Also, as somebody remarked here earlier, there are only 8 test playing nations. If one as significant as India is doing poorly, it is a loss for all cricket loving fans. India still is in a state of transition, much like the Aussies of yesteryear. And Indian fans, don't be so ready to bring down the axe after a few errant performances! Give them some assurance. There were the same calls for Cook's head when he went through leaner patches.

NCP1
on December 6, 2012, 14:10 GMT

Look it is simple, Captain has to do the job and motivate. This guy Dhoni should not be included in a test team. He has no clue how to play a test match or build a test team. He should stick to shorter format. He talks about turning track so he could take 20 wickets but the team he has can't play 5 days in any conditions. Just look at the record finishes under him in 3 or 4 days. India need few Pujaras and new set of bowlers. Get rid of Zaheer. Tendulkar will hang up but he knows what is going to happen to this team, test match will finish in 2 days without him. They need to fight to stay in the game.

Yevghenny
on December 6, 2012, 14:09 GMT

you don't drop the batsmen in form. England suffered enough from Amla. They don't tend to give you another chance after that until they have 150 up, and even you'll be lucky

Scube
on December 6, 2012, 14:09 GMT

@maf17: Only problem is that there are 3 months before the Aussies arrive here! By that time, Ashwin would have developed 10 more new deliveries that are so well disguised, no one is able to identify even one of his many inventions so far! Fletcher & Dhoni are busy looking for them!

RG2008
on December 6, 2012, 14:05 GMT

Awesome - 3 tons away in India is absolute class. Always rated him highy as a player but thought he was always a lot better against pace than spin. Is this a career defining series???

yoogi
on December 6, 2012, 14:03 GMT

well, days like this is what india needs to understand that it cant bat and bowl properly. Need for an Argus report is certainly on cards. Ask kapil Dev Or Kumble or Dravid to prepare what needs to be done to play better test and one day cricket. Also sack this coach. we need someone like kristen, if thats not possible then lets have some local talent like Robin singh as coach.

on December 6, 2012, 13:55 GMT

so what is BCCI's reasoning now. they brushed aside their woeful efforts oseas

but now even at home . they are weak

on December 6, 2012, 13:53 GMT

England over powered India in all departments untill now. It has not been done by any team in recent past!
Cook is a master piece.....

on December 6, 2012, 13:52 GMT

India are heading towards yet another rock bottom. Haven't seen india play like this, well ever to be honest. As @maf says, this is a once in a generation chance for every team to beat india. India was a force to be reckoned with, away, and especially at home. Now it seems they are not. All due to a lack of good consistent batting, consistent bowling, and most of all, a lack of fighting spirit.

sportofpain
on December 6, 2012, 13:46 GMT

What's with all these comments ridiculing India. England has played brilliantly and deserve the position they are in. But with 3 days to go anything can happen. India can rally - some of the players must be hurting. So let's see waht day 3 holds in store

Sanawana
on December 6, 2012, 13:45 GMT

ODI's and T20s is not real cricket; it's just hide and seek; batsmen hiding from good bowlers and letting them pass silently until their spell is over and bowlers trying to MISS the ball. Tests is where you are being tested, you can not hide from Monty or Anderson or Swann, they have unlimited balls to bowl to you and bowlers can not win by just missing the balls. India used to have good batsmen; Dravid, Laxman and Young SRT but the present batch including Kohli are Just one day International stars who are better at hide and seek and so is Ashwin; you cant just be a good cricketer by bowling maidens. You have to be incisive; you have to have those killer deliveries. What happened to Indians? I have but this super natural explanation, they got too arrogant with whatever.. being the most powerful board who won't listen to other weak boards. I have no scientific explanation!!

Narbavi
on December 6, 2012, 13:42 GMT

@mazii: We should learn how to play from pakistan?? ha ha come on mate get serious, you mean we should learn how to get bowled out for below 100 scores?? You are talking about a team which was world no.1 not so long ago, we don't need to look at your team which hasn't improved at all, we need to look at teams like South Africa or Australia!!

Akshita29
on December 6, 2012, 13:41 GMT

@ jmcilhinney on (December 06 2012, 13:22 PM GMT) absolutely spot on the umpire could have no way seen the touch of gloves . This is why I feel BCCI is so wrong in opposing DRS .

alarky
on December 6, 2012, 13:41 GMT

The Indian bowlers are being UNFAIRLY criticized by the Indian commentators. Eden Gardens was made a batting paradise for this test. No batsman should get out on that GRAVEYARD. Dhoni won the toss and correctly batted first. But the TOOTHLESS batting line up that he has now failed miserably. And instead of blaming the batsmen who should've batted for at least 2 days on this pitch, the pundits blaming the bowlers who're under pressure in hopeless bowling conditions. The batting failed because in the past dozen years or so, the script of the India batting was: Sehwag was expected to hammer the bowling from the front and the parasitic rest would prey off his fortunes. If he failed, Dravid and/or Laxman would save the innings. But Sehwag got run out; both Dravid and Laxman are gone; Tendulkar as usual held up one end with his usual overly careful grafting nonsense, putting pressure on the young batsmen who wilted under the pressure. Now they're depending on umpire mistakes for a wicket!

ShawnHolmes
on December 6, 2012, 13:41 GMT

India needs to stop playing Cricket and get their batting, bowling and fielding sorted out. Indian team is average at best.

Narbavi
on December 6, 2012, 13:36 GMT

@BDforever: Can we talk after you first know how a test victory tastes like??

Third_Gear
on December 6, 2012, 13:35 GMT

I will advice to BCCI to arrange more games with associate teams like China,Singapore,Hongkong & USA with Indian Team in orderto help their toothless bowling to sharpen and the the bowlers might gain some confidence after gaining some of those cheap wickets consequently Dhoni will feel comfortable at the press conference to show of their success.

CricketingStargazer
on December 6, 2012, 13:34 GMT

@Nerk, the only one kidding hemself here is someone who thinks that England are going to relax tomorrow and put down the welcome mat to an Indian side who look increasing like they want the match referee to step in and stop the contest to save them from further punishment. Anything less than a lead of 150 for England by the Close tomorrow will be a disappointment.

prapatelp
on December 6, 2012, 13:33 GMT

Is it time to get rid of the coach yet? Since Duncan Fletcher took over from Gary Kirsten it has been a downhill ride for India. They cannot seem to win a single Test Series away from home and at home too they are not looking assuring. It seems that Bangladesh can play better test cricket in India than India. No batting, no bowling and no hunger to win. BCCI won't do anything as long as they are earning profits from IPL and as long as people still watching this game. All the people who spend their hard earned money to come and watch the game should ask for refunds. Dhoni should reassess what he wants to do in the next year and maybe hand over the captaincy in capable hands. And alos please please please stop the politics and bring capable players on board who are really wants to play and win the game.

Scube
on December 6, 2012, 13:32 GMT

@GRVJPR: Why are you leading such a tasteless pathetic life consistently leaving a sadist comment about someone or the other after every day of cricket!

jmcilhinney
on December 6, 2012, 13:32 GMT

@binojpeter on (December 06 2012, 13:09 PM GMT), we England fans know your pain. While it wasn't actually a drop, Pujara was given a let-off when Anderson misjudged what should have been a simple chance when he was, I believe, on 8 in the first Test and he went on to score over 200. England's catching has been abysmal for over a year now and this is probably the first game where can say that it's been good for a while, although they still have to field again so I don't want to get ahead of myself. I also recall that England probably should have won one of the games during their last 0-5 ODI series in India but their all-around poor fielding cost them there too. We all concentrate on batting and bowling but just a single blemish in the field can be so costly. In the first Test against SA recently, England dropped Amla on 40 and he ended up making 311 no. You'll no doubt be hoping that Cook doesn't go that far.

SrUmpire
on December 6, 2012, 13:31 GMT

Cook, Thanks a lot for doing this to India. I hope the selectors will take some tough calls after this series at least, instead of just saying everything is hunky-dory, and we don't need to over react.

itsthewayuplay
on December 6, 2012, 13:31 GMT

Same teams, same results with the exception of the 1st test in the series which was clearly a blip and we'll put down to England's first warm up match against a team with spinners.
Please can the BCCI arrange home series against Bangladesh Zimbabwe and Canada to engineer a series win and help the master blaster Tendulkar get his next century.
Which part of line and length do our bowlers not understand?

balajit
on December 6, 2012, 13:30 GMT

Another disappointing day for India. Bowling was ordinary. Costly miss by Pujara, shocking to see him field with shin pads on at slip. England in box seat, it is going to be extremely difficult for India to salvage this match. They need to really bat well, apply themselves . Need another VVS type Eden special innings from someone in the Indian team. Hoping for the best!

2.14istherunrate
on December 6, 2012, 13:24 GMT

Hope against hope I really wanted this scenario. How on earth could we achieve another stellar day in India? I also wondered whetehr there was a dog's chance of Cook making it five in a row as captain and three in three Tests. 'Cool Hand' Cook just went and did it; no sweat! When he was being written off in 2010 I did post it was rather stupid to drop a player of his age who kept on getting 60's as it was better than the 0's some would have rather he'd got. Since he made 114 at the ov al he really has blossomed into a totally awesome player with his run fests since. I am not that surprised he now has 23 tons and hopefully there are a few left in him at 27-aweswome!!! Many congratulations to him. And England are progressing in such a way that suggests greater dominance in Kolkata. What a relief after UAE.

jmcilhinney
on December 6, 2012, 13:22 GMT

@Si Baker on (December 06 2012, 12:42 PM GMT), I think that you're being far too hard on the umpire for Compton's dismissal. It was not a good decision and that's tough for Compton but to call it horrendous is overstating the case greatly. It required a close-up, slow-mo replay to show conclusively that the ball had hit the glove. The umpire gets one look in real time at 22 yards. He considered the decision long and hard and I can't fault him for giving it out. I think that we all underestimate the difficulty of an umpire's job, especially at international level. It's just another example of why we should have DRS.

Islander1
on December 6, 2012, 13:18 GMT

India should stop playing cricket for a few months and work on their bowling department...

Nerk
on December 6, 2012, 13:17 GMT

England have played well, but they are kidding themselves if they think the work is done. If India rally tomorrow, they can restrict England to a small lead, or even knock them over. On such a belter of a wicket, India will be odds on to post a big third innings, so England need a big lead to put the pressure on them. Fascinating match and one with a lot of cricket to play.

on December 6, 2012, 13:14 GMT

'Return to Eden' by the Poms? Cook is cooking a very spicy Indian curry in Bengal. Interesting to see how India digs themselves out this hole.

on December 6, 2012, 13:13 GMT

The Indian Selectors need to retain only 3 players from this team for the 4th test and field a completely new loo side with a new captain......Kohli, Pujara, Ojha and Yuvraj shud be retained.......Dhni and others had lost the hunger for playing test cricket and R Aswing is made to play only T20 and perhaps as a stop gap One Day player!!! Taking 50 wickets as the fastest bowlers against the bottom rung teams like WI and NZ doesn't make one a great bowling talent......It's time Indian Selectors should show some courage.....Sachin has already scored 76 in the 1st innigs, so he can retire with his pride restored!!!!!!

mazii
on December 6, 2012, 13:12 GMT

Can't play spin, can't play quality fast bowling, this is Indian cricket. I wonder what this Indian team will look alike after Sachin's retirement. These Indian batsmen may have done better in ODI's, but to play test cricket they have to learn from Pakistan. India should play IPL because they can't play test cricket. On the other hand, Cook and co are showing India where they belong. England is the only team that can compete against Saffas. They may not win against them, but they can give them tough time. I'm from Pakistan and I know that Pakistan just won the last series because of magician Ajmal and to a certain extent Rehman. But here India doesn't have for the likes of Ajmal and Rehman. I think India should overhaul their test team. Kohli is a good ODI batsmen but he has to perform at this level. Pujara is a good find and he is the future of Indian cricket. Yovraj shouldn't play test and India needs to find some good bowlers. Otherwise Indian test cricket can't survive.

SachinIsAGoner
on December 6, 2012, 13:12 GMT

Cook was helped by the surface that offered little to the bowlers....and then....Cook was on 17 at that stage, and had survived a probing spell from India's quick bowlers....

What is it exactly? Trying to confuse the fact that England was the better, best side altogether? Even if it is true that the Surface is just a National Highway, India was exactly dismissed in a day.

on December 6, 2012, 13:12 GMT

I've just got to say, as someone who's neither English nor Indian, that you Indian fans are taking this all in pretty good spirit. I've seen hardly any blaming of umpires, conditions, nasty opponents, the stars, or anything else that usually comes with copping a hiding. Good on you, and don't give up on cricket or your team. As for Cook and England, very very impressive.

ovzdatta151
on December 6, 2012, 13:11 GMT

excellent India should loose the series,,,,,...................

itsthewayuplay
on December 6, 2012, 13:10 GMT

England to score 700 so they can wrap this match up in day 4. More important than the result is that Tendulkar scored a half-century.

binojpeter
on December 6, 2012, 13:09 GMT

Had Pujara held on to that catch offered by Cook at slip, situation would have been different, who knows. You can't let a chance like that given by a class batsman go by. But then this is something one has to accept, when your established slip cordon (Dravid and Laxman) retires and new generation starts to take over the mantle.

maf17
on December 6, 2012, 13:09 GMT

Hmm, I wasnt looking forward to the Australian tour of India, but after watching the way England are towelling them, there is a real, probably once in a generation, chance for the Aussies to repeat the thrashing of last summer but in India. India's batting and bowling is beyond ordinary. They look absolutely toothless. Pujara is the only shining light. Gambhir and Kohli have not lived up to promise, Tendulkar & Sehwag are one step from the retirement home, and while Dhoni & Yuvraj have some fight in them, its not enough to make up for a tepid bowling attack. Zaheer and Sharma look tired and while Ashwin has some pluck, I dont thinks he's got it in him to take down a side if the pitch isn't supporting him.. If Australia can bed down that fragile top order and settle on a second spinner to back up Lyon, this is a plum ripe for the taking.

itsthewayuplay
on December 6, 2012, 13:06 GMT

If India can restrict England to about 700, more likely England will declare, we will have at least a moral victory.

on December 6, 2012, 13:05 GMT

Who used to be tigers in their own homeland, are now looking completely toothless - Indian bowlers do not seem to have a recipe for Cook - Won't be surprised if Indians get humiliated in their own backyard with a 3/1 drubbing - though can label me as extremely pessimistic.. Dhoni needs to revise his own future plans leave alone the other players (do we have anyone qualifying to that level in this 11!).. And the new selection panel will get themselves excused for having "continued" carrying the baton, but will have to sit and deliberate - better they start right away!!

on December 6, 2012, 13:01 GMT

i dnt know how england get defeated in first test,where from India got this Ashwin?
in home condition captain is confused and even indian think tank look paralized.am quite serious ICC Should re concider indian test status,same england team get dfeated by pakistan 3-0 and it was quality spin bowling but now where tracks are offering more spin than UAE and indians are unable to get wickets even there is no single doggy deliver by any spinner? I think BCCI Should realize test cricket is Not a IPL Match.plz post

rajattiwaari
on December 6, 2012, 13:01 GMT

This game has now gone a bit too far from IND. It will be very difficult to win from here. Very very difficult!!

landl47
on December 6, 2012, 12:57 GMT

Cook is in the same relentless form as he showed in Australia in 2010/11. It's good to see Compton getting accustomed to test cricket, too; after his duck in the first innings of the first test, he has got better and better and England has had two century opening partnerships and two fifty+ (one unbroken)- a great achievement. India has one wicket and that was a dodgy decision. England should be looking to bat all day tomorrow and into day 4 if they can. They don't want to have to bat again if they can help it.

on December 6, 2012, 12:57 GMT

My hopes are diminishing. I fear India under threat of a series defeat in their own backyard after 8 years. I miss those Anil kumble rippers that traps batsman plumb in front. Gilchrist lead aus did it in 2004(ponting was rested) with 2-1 win.cook and co have got more than a chance to repeat the same.

bumsteer
on December 6, 2012, 12:53 GMT

Wondering what excuses Dhoni will come up with after this one? Pathetic.

ashulovesindia
on December 6, 2012, 12:52 GMT

This is what happen when you underestimate your opponent and not try to focus on the game . i remember how the australian at their peak does not give any inch to the opponent and kill the game.now only God or a miracle can save india.good to see arter long time any team is giving challenge to india in india.

on December 6, 2012, 12:52 GMT

@Peter_Jones2012 Get real, how many ICC (world cups, champs trophies) tournaments has England won? While there's no doubt the current England side is far stronger than the current Indian side, overall in world cricket India have achieved significantly more than England have, despite inventing the game and having played it for longer than other countries England have only managed a single ICC trophy, that too as recently as 2010 compared to India's 2 world cup wins, a champ trophy and a T20 WC. England have a LOT of catching up to do before they can "teach" Cricket again lol.

Hash_Tag
on December 6, 2012, 12:52 GMT

OMG. India have nowhere to run nowhere to hide. There was far too much big talk from India fans before this series. The team has not lived up to it. Time to eat the humble pie and admit that England are a decent side. They are tough mentally. India do not look up for it. I can see India going down here, possibly quite badly.

on December 6, 2012, 12:51 GMT

Great job by Englishman with the ball and then piled up the runs with bat. Clear indication of poor indian bowling lineup. Most of the bowlers seemed toothless. In fact the most unfortunate thing for them is when u do not know how to take wickets in your own conditions then u much have some serious issues. Specially your spinners like R Ashwin does not look like one who deserves an international cap, at all.

GRVJPR
on December 6, 2012, 12:50 GMT

Another 100 on flat Asian Wicket !

on December 6, 2012, 12:45 GMT

I would like to know whose teaching spin to the bharti team these days? They need to get hold of Qadir from across the border. There must be quality spin talent in bharat but without a proper mentor, its going to get nowhere.

BigDataIsAHoax
on December 6, 2012, 12:44 GMT

This hurts. To be a fan of test match cricket and to be Indian is not good. Neither is it good for the game. As it is the game is played by 8 nations only. And if the competition is as thin as it is at the moment, there is nothing left to it!

on December 6, 2012, 12:42 GMT

But for yet another horrendous umpiring decision against England (take a bow, Rod Tucker, star IPL/BCCI umpire), we'd now be around 230-0 at the close of the second day. We've all run out of superlatives for Cook, but what was so heartwarming for England today was the performance of Compton. He looks every inch a Test player. Once he has a few hundreds under his belt he'll start unfurling his full range of strokes.

As for India: what they need above all right now is a drastic change of momentum, something that can only be realistically achieved by sacking both Fletcher & Dhoni, who has to be the most uninspiring & uninventive Test captain of the modern era. One only has to watch India fielding for 10 minutes to realise that they also need a top-class fitness coach. It's actually embarrassing - even for a non-Indian - to watch players like Sehwag, Yuvraj, Ashwin, Zaheer & Ohja lumbering vainly after the ball like grazing cattle whose mid-afternoon nap has just been rudely interrupted.

on December 6, 2012, 12:40 GMT

our bowling has always been ordinary so nothing new in it, but at least spinners were able to exploit the conditions at home... What we are lacking today is a cushion of batting, our batsmen used to score 500-600 runs..... its high time for India & high time for BCCI to develop a culture of solid domestic first class cricket. Our team selection so far has been quite senseless over the years. why we r taking yuvi n raina again n again in the team, why players like rahane, rohit & badri were not considered for test matches ahead of yuvraj ?
we r selecting a test team on the basis of odi & t20.....we r not going to win any test series with such an ordinary thinking....

on December 6, 2012, 12:36 GMT

love to see our boys lose... because enough is enough.... Dhoni's ever running luck has run out... time to inject fresh blood... if this is not enough let the boys lose to England, Pakistan, Australia on the trot....

imrankhan76uk
on December 6, 2012, 12:35 GMT

yesterday so many fans ("pitch experts"haha) were saying that pitch is unplayable and Statchin has done gr8 by scoring 76.... look now whats happening on the same pitch and enjoy.... and by the way Statchin should play for atleast another 5 years and then more if he wants too :))

on December 6, 2012, 12:35 GMT

Poor performance from the Indian players today. Fielding, bowling and even the batting from the 1st innings was not up to the mark. Step up and show you deserve your place in the side. You are playing for the country, not some IPL club side. Go India.

jrw39
on December 6, 2012, 12:35 GMT

There is a lot of unseemly gloating from England supporters, who would do well to remember that it is still 1-1 and England have looked a poor side for the past 12 months. Geoff Boycott's commentary on the radio this morning was equally biassed. As an England supporter, it is great to see Cook's team playing so well but dismissing India as club side with terrible players is nonsense. Was the same true of England when they played Pakistan last winter? Like JayPMorgan, I also fear for the future of Test cricket if India continue to struggle in this format of the game.

on December 6, 2012, 12:34 GMT

@pallab i don't understand why you want india to do bad in this series..

yeah me too want that our selector's, board and player's should learn a lesson but i don't want them to do bad in this series..

on December 6, 2012, 12:34 GMT

Just a Pure Class :)
you don't find Players better than cook very often
Comon Cook , Do Exactly what South Africa did to Aussies in last test
get this series for England
Let India be down further
So Pakistan can have a chance in test championship :)

ShawnHolmes
on December 6, 2012, 12:31 GMT

India is a weak team and this drubbing they are getting at the hands of Cook is well deserved. India made a career out of playing on flat, concrete like pitches at home. But when it comes to playing away from home, India has consistently failed despite playing Cricket for more than 100 years. How can players be considered great, when they only perform on batting friendly condition like the Indians? Take a batting 102 course Indians. Learn the basics.

SirViv1973
on December 6, 2012, 12:29 GMT

I thought Ind needed a big day today and it turned out to be another great day for eng perhaps as one sided a days test cricket as you are likley to see. I feel if Ind have another long day in the field tomorrow and Eng end the day 200 odd ahead with wickets in hand then Ind will be broken and the series all but decided. I think the first session will be crucial. If Eng get to lunch more or less on par with Ind 1st inns and having lost only 1 or 2 wickets then it will just be a question of home long Cook thinks it will take the bowlers to bowl Ind out 2nd time around. If on the other hand Ind can grab a couple of early wickets & somehow manage to bowl Eng out with less than a 100 lead then they might give themselves a chance but the odds our stacked heavily in ours, Engs favor.

on December 6, 2012, 12:29 GMT

@john smith
i totaly agree with you, right now indian team(my) is playing horribly.

unless they do some wonder and dismiss eng under 300 this test is out of their hand.

once again well played eng.

scottnye
on December 6, 2012, 12:23 GMT

this is giving me so much pleasure. England have finally got their act together after a poor year, India being shown to be an ordinary team.

I predicct an innings victory, 10 wickets at worst.

stormy16
on December 6, 2012, 12:22 GMT

The lights will go out soon on India unless they are able to get some wickets quickly. The new ball is due soon and unless India make that count (including KP - assuming they get one of these two early!) India will be looking at the embarrasing prospect of fighting to draw the game. This was supposed to be a 4-0 drubing of Eng and unelss India wake up fast from their slumber, they could be fighting to stay in the series.

streetblader
on December 6, 2012, 12:21 GMT

1. Whitewashed 4-0 in England<br>
2. Whitewashed 4-0 in Australia<br>
3. Failed to make the tri-series finals in Australia<br>
4. Lost to BD<br>
5. Failed to make the finals in Asia Cup<br>
6. Humiliated out of the T-20 WC<br>
7. Lost the Mumbai test in their own backyard<br>
8. Lost the Kolkata Test (?)<br>
9. England win the "Revenge Series (?) <br>
<br><br>
Result: No action, team still the same. <br>
Next plan of action: Yay, welcome IPL.

on December 6, 2012, 12:19 GMT

seriously i don't wanna bring it up and brag about it...but im gonna say it no matter what..just for the indian fans who took all the credit away from pakistan when they beat 3-0 to england..(not the indian fans who appreciated good cricket)...it is all very clear now....people claiming that beating england on spin tracks was a piece of cake..should learn their lessons...england is a very competitive side and they just showed their class right now...anyways...i just feel sorry for the indian batsman if they cant score big at their home..where would they? Best of luck!

Nick_sp
on December 6, 2012, 12:18 GMT

It looks like 3-1 defeat for India on cards. We cannot bat against quality teams and bowling is pathetic.

JasonGray
on December 6, 2012, 12:15 GMT

indian have a bigger pool of talent to choose from since the country only plays one single sport. but even with a population over a billion, indians can select a team that does well at home and away. players like sachin have great records but it's meaningless because they are mostly complied on easy pitches against weak teams. sad truth is, india is no better than a club side. even a county side can beat india.

The_bowlers_Holding
on December 6, 2012, 12:12 GMT

Posted by maddy20 on (December 05 2012, 03:00 AM GMT)
One win and the English fans are over the moon. Ye' all can be pretty darn sure that things will be back to normal after the Kolkata test! Yes after a couple of years of having decent form normal service has been resumed by India.

on December 6, 2012, 12:12 GMT

Indian Cricket Test Team is a joke led by a person who is not made for test cricket...

Mohee.bd
on December 6, 2012, 12:11 GMT

Everybody always talking about India's batting, why? Still they are regularly scoring more than 300...350+ runs in every innings though 2/3 of their top order batsman now out of form, the problem is temporary. Actually the problem is in their bolling. It was never good; now it is in worse condition.

Sheela
on December 6, 2012, 12:10 GMT

Toothless Indian bowling should not surprise anyone, as in the previous Mumbai Test in helpful conditions Indian bowlers miserably failed. Also Indian batsmen failed against accurate English bowling in three consecutive innings. Hope lessons are learnt and the first thing may be captain should be shown the door along with a few players.

VinodGupte
on December 6, 2012, 12:09 GMT

Dhoni, Ashwin, ZK and Fletcher must be forced to go on a sabbatical after the series. btw, don't be surprised if this test ends in a draw.

gerrardl
on December 6, 2012, 12:09 GMT

Atleast Sachin scored a fifty :))))))))))))

That's all that matters right? :)The master scored 76 so the result doesnt matter, he'll be safe for another 5 years now for 1 fifty :) Let's all make big 'Sachin is god banners for tomorrow's play.

:') go india!

on December 6, 2012, 12:08 GMT

if Eng score 450 plus, it will be no way India can win this match. but, If India can restrict to them around 350 mark still match can go either way. So far England shows that they are the better side than India in Indian soil India need to find answer quickly. otherwise they will miss the train this time.

Crusader1980
on December 6, 2012, 12:08 GMT

Bring back Sreesanth once he is match fit, we need some fire in the bowling...

on December 6, 2012, 12:04 GMT

Nick Compton was given out wrongly and under pressure by
Tucker the Australian umpire much after the appeal. I have seen one of our
spinners making too many intimidatory appeals. I am sure if the DRS was in
place Compton would have benefited out of it. I wasn't sure why the
Commentators did not speak about this grave error openly but talked in whispers about it. Is India objecting to DRS because it is beneficial in such cases. In any case
the quality of umpiring has gone down and it is a pity ICC do not have
enough quality umpires. The current India team is not good. We should get
rid of all the oldies (they are a hindrance to new comers) and select a young
team which even if it loses a couple of series does not matter as we are
losing in any case with our invincibles.

CricketingStargazer
on December 6, 2012, 12:01 GMT

Steve Finn will be much better in the 2nd innings for his long bowl. He was ramping up to 89mph and noticeably faster when he took the new ball so expect him to break 90mph in the 2nd innings as the pitch starts to misbehave. Graeme Swann is reported to be ill and wll be happy to get two days rest and come back fitter in the 2nd innings. And it seems that the gentle net that the batsmen are getting is playing Jonathon Trott back into form. It's hard to find good news for India. Ravi Ashwin is takng his wickets at 71 and his strike rate of 139 only looks good because Zaheer Khan's is almost 150 now. England have 4 batsmen averaging over 40 in the series, while India can just varely boast 4 averaging over 30 (one of them was picked as a bowler). Monty has a strike rate of 44, Swann has 51 but even Ojha, plowing a lone furrow for India, can only manage 56. Somehow, from somwehere, India need to find a second bowler and a batsmen to support Pujara who, like Ojha, can't do it all alone.

RednWhiteArmy
on December 6, 2012, 12:01 GMT

India needs to make some changes. Ive never felt more confident as an England fan even despite losing the ranking. New captain now, Captain Cook. Sky limit.

on December 6, 2012, 12:01 GMT

Bowling is indeed toothless. We need nippy fast bowlers constantly touching 140kmph. Not has beens who paddle around at 128kmph.
Where is Varun Aroon? Sreesanth for all his histrionics could produce unplayable deliveries with some regularity. This is a test match not a one dayer where runs leaked by a strike bowler hardly matter.
We should learn to stop living on past glory. No form means no form. Opportunities to find form can be had at the national level and not at the international level where the country pays. Kholi is good but needs to find form, Tendulkar too has to find form. Get in top performers from the Ranji pool. We may hit gold.
Let us be bold and try out players in current form. many of the current guys barely had match practice of intense mental involvement. Wanting to perform will only be there if there is a desire to break in and stay at the highest level.

on December 6, 2012, 12:01 GMT

Excellent batting from Cook. He is showing everyone how to bat in such conditions. He was very careful during the first few hours afterwards, he started playing his shots. The longer you stay in the crease, easier it gets. But sadly, Indian batsman's wants to play test Cricket, like they play T20 or ODI. They are way too impatient. India will need their senior players to step up during the 2nd inning. Good luck India.

on December 6, 2012, 11:57 GMT

COOK is a fantastic player ok.. but INDIA's club level like bowling making him look like a LEGEND.... sory to say this as a die hard Indian fan... but test cricket in India declining like a pack of cards...

Arulan_Thomas
on December 6, 2012, 11:55 GMT

IPL was suppose to help the Indians in t20 but India still has the worst record in that format. They couldn't win matches away and if they did, it was considered a national holiday. now they indian boys look helpless, clueless against a team, which is not backing down. indian board should call a minnow team and prepare a flat pitch. that will help the indians win and allow the fans to praise Ordinary players to the skies.

Mitch1066
on December 6, 2012, 11:54 GMT

Well day two seamed to followed day one with England on top . I think if England can get another 250-350 we be in total control and hopefully can bring victory home. And end the fear of 3-1 to India . It certainly going better then I feared it be. I did fear 4-0 but at least we stopped that and hopefully 3-1 too if we can show the fight to finish the good first two days

doubtingthomas
on December 6, 2012, 11:54 GMT

Never in any match in any series in any country have I read so much talk revolving around the pitch. Somethings should be better left undisturbed, to keep at least some spontaneity in the game. And Mr. Srinivasan says BCCI is not a bully. I think we can comfortably club BCCI with IOA and IHF as among the most unsporting sporting bodies around the world.

Arulan_Thomas
on December 6, 2012, 11:51 GMT

Great stuff by England so far. They completely dominated India and made them look like a club side, which they are. When India toured England, the players didn't even put up a fight. India ended up losing 0-4. But look at this England side. Not only are they taking it to the Indians but beating them in their own game. Indians are weak mentally and never really performed well under pressure. Good game Cook. Legend in the making.

on December 6, 2012, 11:51 GMT

Cook is in his prime form of his career Hats off to him for breaking plethora of records It seems that Indians dont hv clue how to handle him how to get him out thanx Cook

tmoulik
on December 6, 2012, 11:50 GMT

Dhoni's captaincy in Tests looks pretty ordinary. But, in India, criticizing Dhoni can be fatal for the selectors or Ex-players who in one way or other are dependent on BCCI. Former chief selector Mr. Mahindar Amarnath just proposed to discuss the issue of captaincy after the 0-8 loss overseas, and was sacked promptly by board.

on December 6, 2012, 11:50 GMT

I like India to do badly in a series at home , because only then we will realise that we are no longer dependant on the spinners as we did in the past, probably only then we will breed fast bowlers and change our wickets to support fast bowling. Also probably only then our Batsmen will be used to playing fast bowlers and we will do relatively well in other parts of the world.

Faridoon
on December 6, 2012, 11:50 GMT

The strike rates of the 'strike' bowlers that India is fielding is appalling. They should hire a bowling coach. It seems that Indian fast bowlers have very short use-by dates. They bowl well in their first few games and then the decline starts. What happens to the RP Singhs, Balajis, Srisanths??

There's a plethora of world class ex-fast bowlers out there that can do the job like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Glen McGrath, Alan Donald, Brett Lee etc. I guess the BCCI can't afford a bowling coach... :)

JayPmorgan
on December 6, 2012, 11:50 GMT

I am really concerned about the decline in performance of the Indian Test team as I believe it is directly linked to the future of Test Cricket. They will no doubt go on to handsomely win the 1 day series , with piles of runs for players like Kohli followed by the glamour of IPL, however the Tests , the arena in which greatness is forged will long be forgotten. This will be a great shame. I do not mind players making vast money as that is dictated by market forces , but I cannot think of another sport in which the sportsman make it in such a distilled variety of the original game. It is akin to money being made in 5-a side football tournaments rather than 11 a side . I therefore request all genuine indian supporters to not let the test decline go unchallenged. It would be a great shame to let performances by Bradman, Richards , Tendulkar be consigned to the waste bin of history.

UsmanAnsari
on December 6, 2012, 11:47 GMT

india might have several good batsman, but they need to have FAF

CricketMaan
on December 6, 2012, 11:47 GMT

the sorry state is nothing in this line up will change for Nagpur as Dhoni and selectors believe in a fair run. But then who is there waitng in the wing to spin a web around Cook and KP? Dinda with all his match practise and wkts this season is warming bench on his home ground, while Ishant who has not played competitive cricket over a month is bowling dollies. Dhoni certainly seems to have lost the plot of captaincy. With SRT, Zak to continue for Aus tests the future looks scary.

Kirk_Levin
on December 6, 2012, 11:47 GMT

Gee whiz, The Master is showing the Pupil how to play Cricket once again :) Indians have have a poor record overseas (just see the stats) but seeing them get a beat down on lifeless tracks in India is a joy to watch. Carry on Cook. Make it 3-1.

on December 6, 2012, 11:46 GMT

Indian fans; it's time you guys get players in who love the game of test cricket, rather than the short format only. They are not showing much fight here.

CricketingStargazer
on December 6, 2012, 11:44 GMT

I have been posting all along that this series reminded me of the 1984/85 series and it is getting more that way every day that passes. The momentum shfted on Day 3 of the 1st Test and, since then, despite closing out the match, India have arguably not won a single day. Before the series we suspected that India were seriously over-rating boh their spinners and their batting and it looks more that way every day. England look to have better spinners, a better balance to their attack and better batting. Unless Pujara makes a score no one in the Indian line-up has the patience to make a contribution. The good news for India in this match is that Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni have both made runs, something that the fans were calling for, but even with a 50 rom each, England are dominating. Yesterday there were a lot of posts excusing the batting saying that the pitch is difficult: it doesn't look like a difficult pitch today. In fact, it looks like England will build a big lead from lunch.

on December 6, 2012, 11:43 GMT

I wish bhajji was in the team.........everyone is missing him except Dhoni

SachinIsTheGreatest
on December 6, 2012, 11:42 GMT

@Pappu_bhai, agree with you to an extent but also remember three of those four were in the team when we got trounced 8-0. Even now I wish India gets rid of Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhoni and Zaheer and starts afresh. It is better to lose heavily with a young team which will learn something rather than with ageing stalwarts.

on December 6, 2012, 11:40 GMT

Cook & Amla is probably the best two batsmen in the world. Like to see how many innings Amla has to play to complete his 7000 runs.

on December 6, 2012, 11:39 GMT

Indian fielding was very poor today. Dropped catches, misfieldings, players not backing up etc gave away plenty of easy runs to the England batsman's. Hope the Indian team gets their stuff sorted and shows more fight on the field tomorrow. All the best India.

abhiyog
on December 6, 2012, 11:39 GMT

India is an ordinary side......let us accept it as far as Indian cricketers are concerned IPL is the highest form of cricket not Tests time for dhoni to resign and Sachin to retire and of course Duncan Fletcher should be sacked , its only after he took over we lost 8 away tests and now a home series abt to be lost unless England do very silly things.......

on December 6, 2012, 11:38 GMT

Wonderful exhibition of test match batting by Cooky!!! He has proved thro' out this series that his England team is not an easy meat at all!! He has cooked Indian bowling to the perfection and tomorrow all the middle order batsmen will enjoy the Indian dish. India team will be left to lick the left over plates and vessels as they are absolutely lack luster in their peopleapproach. MSD sticks to his tried and tested method instead of manufacturing a wicket than waiting patiently. It is time people that we accept that our team even in our own conditions are novice when they face-off with quality opposition.

on December 6, 2012, 11:38 GMT

@hemadrithegreat Can't see that happening. I can see India needing 300+ to save an innings defeat in the third innings - and eventually losing by an innings quite comfortably. England to win by an innings and 70+ runs

Pappu_bhai
on December 6, 2012, 11:36 GMT

However Now they have gone.Now its time to build a new team.All the teams were in transition.
India-->Currently and will get even worse once Sachin and Sehwag retires.i.E Cant even Win in India.
WI-->Still no chance of Coming good.
Pakistan-->Once Akram and Yunis retired and upto a point till they got Ajmal
England-->Under Nasser Husain and Vaugan Captaincy
Australia-->From Gilli retirement Till Clarke was back in Form
SL-->Currently and will get even worse once Sanga and Jaya retires.i.E Cant even Win in SL.
NZ-->In Progress
SAF-->From Cronje retirement till they got Steyn

on December 6, 2012, 11:36 GMT

hes gona break Tendulkar's test record

theman0493
on December 6, 2012, 11:35 GMT

Cook is a future great, of that there is no doubt. He could become England's highest run-maker in Test cricket, yet there are some who choose to underrate this masterful batsmen.

Farce-Follower
on December 6, 2012, 11:35 GMT

Results. What results. Forget such trivialities. Just think about the terrific 76. A knock that merited a seperate article and tribute from Cricinfo. Indians have a huge reason to celebrate.

on December 6, 2012, 11:34 GMT

Dhoni is getting what is he supposed to...The Luck is not there with him now.. And selectors should see back to Renjiees, and recognize the players who have the real test temprament..not the "T20 celebraties"...

@ Indian fans, India have a small hope left still. SA were in similar position in 2010 at Eden Gardens. They were 218/1 and allout of 296. It might still happen tomorrow. You never know. But, I doubt this bowling attack will replicate that.

Anup_Rai
on December 6, 2012, 11:30 GMT

Historically India has always suffered when the batsmen failed. Bad form of the indian middle order is hurting the team. Its high time people like kohli,Yuvraj,Rohit Sharma realize that test cricket is not only about playing few glorious shots and getting out its also about surviving when bowlers are on top.

on December 6, 2012, 11:30 GMT

Indian team has never looked so clueless and lost like they are now in a home series for a long time now, it is not the players form but the attitude that has changed, the Indian cricketers are now very affluent guys, they really do not mind being axed from the test team, they always have the IPL to fall back on, pure arrogance, feel really sad.

Naresh28
on December 6, 2012, 11:30 GMT

No doubt INDIAS BOWLING IS PATHETIC as has been for years now.
Why we don't ring in changes is beyond me. We take the same guys in
the team and they give us the same.

on December 6, 2012, 11:29 GMT

Lol, Indians getting owned and hammered in their own backyard. If it weren't for the umpire mistake the score would have been 216/0 for England. England is showing the Ordinary and flat track Indian players, how to play in their own country. India is and always remain a ordinary team, who is only capable of doing well against weak teams in flat pitches. Lol at the Indians.

lukecannon
on December 6, 2012, 11:28 GMT

Wll played cook. Guide us to another win. You are like my hero. i have faith in you and the boys. Good luck

Akshita29
on December 6, 2012, 11:27 GMT

I have no words to say for India. Pathetic bowling and pathetic fielding and total lack of enegry on the field. Only wckt came with a little bit of luck . Tomorrow if they can't lift their game this series is well and truely over . Please get rid of zak ,yuvi and even Dhoni from the test team . And what was Pujara doing in the slip wearing a pad ? How can yuvraj be a part of test team ? He is a very good odi player and should concentrated on limited over games.

Tigg
on December 6, 2012, 11:27 GMT

The biggest issue for India, aside form the lack of penetration from the bowlers and lack of application all their batsmen, save Pujara, have shown in this series is their attitude and fielding.

Like when they played in England and Australia, as soon as things go against them their heads drop and they go through the motions. Add to that the least athletic fielding unit in test cricket and it's a recipe for disaster.

akpy
on December 6, 2012, 11:25 GMT

england spanked us today..period.

Nutcutlet
on December 6, 2012, 11:25 GMT

Cook - Brilliant! I've watched enough cricket over the years to say that Alistair Cook is up there with the very best Test opening batsmen I've ever seen. His defining characteristic is immense, steely concentration. To this extent there is something of Geoff Boycott about him, but he is better, IMO, than GB because he has more shots & there's more fluidity about his batting. Moreover, his intensity (a good word, used by Boycott himself today!) seems to be rubbing off on his team. Now, when Cook's nature starts to rub off on his team, other countries had better be ready for hard, hard struggles to best Cook's England. This side already looks like his own & the players are beginning to find their best form by following the skip's example. Panesar has turned into a trump bowler; Jimmy has shown that he can find what Zaheer can't manage now; Nick Compton is improving with every knock. India already appears to be bucking under this unremitting intensity. They won't be the last to do so!

Pappu_bhai
on December 6, 2012, 11:25 GMT

Now All the bashers understood the value of Sachin,Dravid,Laxman and Ganguly.It was only because of them India were ranked one and feared opponents in India or Abroad.Once they are gone everything is over.Currently we havent seen any Indian batsmen Except Pujara(to an extent) can replace these guys.Still All were calling for these legends heads.Now what happened?It wuld have been different story if they were here.It wud have been a dull draw thanks to our bowling but India would never be afraid of any score if they were here.

on December 6, 2012, 11:24 GMT

Dhoni needs to resign as Indian captain..he hasn't got anything more to offer..after we lose the series..and we will lose it..a clear out needs to happen..Tendulkar should retire..Yuvraj should be dropped and Tiwary,Rahane,Badrinath brought in place..a rethink on our openers..maybe Sehwag should drop down the order...and maybe after this series..also time for Zaheer to go...not that hes playing badly..but we need to build for the future..why Chawla wasn't given a chance I don't know..also Fletcher should go and replaced by an Indian who brings a modern athletic/fitness approach..Indian cricket is at its lowest ebb and a new era should start

VivtheGreatest
on December 6, 2012, 11:24 GMT

England seem to have come to terms with the pitches and conditions here pretty quickly which in itself is a commendable effort. As for India, some of the senior players are gonna have to put their hands up and show some real character or else this one is also going to slip away damn fast.

on December 6, 2012, 11:23 GMT

Eng. dominating in the match right through the first day, Dhon completely failing as a test captain, some one needs to lead the team,bowlers not bowling their best,Zaheer not effective from last few matches,Dhinda must be a better option than Ishant,If cook catch might be taken probably in the better position than this,India falling their quality in the test side, alarm bells or ringing,Selectors need to search the better players for the weak positions,the body language of the spinners completely changed after the first test,Ashwin need to develop as a bowler,India miss used the fair batting conditions with wrong selective shots,especially the way sehwag got out than the momentum changed completely,they need to focus all the aspects of the game. Eng. team having with full of confidence, especially captain is leading from the front, they are playing best cricket,especially after the first test defeat.

sachinisawesome
on December 6, 2012, 11:22 GMT

I have no words to explain this performance. This set of bowlers is not inspired at all. When Dhoni took captaincy he had that fight that inspired the team as well but these days he doesn't look interested and it shows in the team. Bowlers are not bad but I think the air around this Indian team is very negative now. There were no exceptional deliveries bowled by English bowlers yesterday but still we lost wickets. One thing Sourav had was to show fight. By asking for pitches that suit Indian team they have put extra pressure on themselves. And young players calling it a revenge series before it started has also backfired. Dhoni's statements clearly suggested that they are not good enough to win outside India but they are invincible at home. Which has backfired. But Dada always maintained that to be a good team you should be able to compete in every conditions. Being a die hard Indian fan, I am really worried about the future of Indian Cricket. Horror times ahead I am afraid.

158notout
on December 6, 2012, 11:22 GMT

electric_loco_WAP4 - Aus and SA two best attacks in the world? How so? SA yes of course, undoubtedly the best pace attack in the world, but they lack a decent spinner. Australia - they have a bunch of decent pacers but no-one really above all others - sure Pattinson and Cummins could be, probably will be, but neither are yet, and if they keep getting injured they are not going to get there for a while. I guess Siddle is an honest trier but Hilfy is unthreatening and was made to look better than he is by the Indians last year. Lyon is half decent, better than any spinner SA can field, and perhaps India for that matter!

I can't see the Aussie attack having any success during the Ashes in England next year but come the return series we could be in for a treat - I would love to see Finn, Anderson and Broad up against Pattinson, Cummins and Starc!

The batting is another matter entirely.

SaadRocx
on December 6, 2012, 11:21 GMT

I salute this Guy...Cook i have no words for you...hope you keep this form of your life for long...and win this series for England...Respect...where its Due..

on December 6, 2012, 11:20 GMT

discard Dhoni as test captain and Duncan Fletcher as coach. Induct New coach. Garry kirsten did to India what andy flower has done to england. We need coaches who have actually played at this level. Both andy flower and Kirsten were very disciplined and hard working cricketers in their prime. They have rubbed on their hard working attitude and discipline on their teams. We need a coach who is willing to lead by example.

on December 6, 2012, 11:20 GMT

England need to be a little wary of getting complacent early on since the test is far from over, as is the series. However that's a message for the fans rather than the players, as over the last few years the team has shown it keeps its head down and working at key moments. Equally we're a long way from discarding our reputation regarding spin. However a little bit of humility by Indian fans is welcome since they constantly harp on with very little in the way of results against top sides to support it. Australia destroyed them down under, England destroyed them at home and now they are looking far from dominant in their own backyard. The difference between the two teams is that when England do badly no-one cheers a Pietersen 50 like it's magic, a little less hero worship and some more realistic appraisal of where each team is in world terms would not go amiss.

sharidas
on December 6, 2012, 11:18 GMT

If I had any hopes of India doing well at the beginning of the series, that has evaporated in the face of this quality English team. After the second test, I had no doubts in my mind as to what was in store. No. I am not a doom sayer. But quality must be appreciated.

Erebus26
on December 6, 2012, 11:18 GMT

A good display by the England batsmen today. The Indian bowling wasn't at it's best although it must be said that the pitch is still very good to bat on. Simply put, Cook et al showed the kind of patience today that most of the Indian batsmen should've shown yesterday. Some quick wickets tomorrow might turn the game around though.

muthu4664
on December 6, 2012, 11:18 GMT

I think, current set up of team need to be changed along with captain of test team. End of road for Dhoni as a player & captain. Guys like Rahane & tiwari need to be inducted in to playing XI.Also Domestic bowling stars like Dinda,Pankaj singh, Sandeep sharma, B.Kumar need to be given chances.Hard decisions need to be taken for the betterment of team . Big Question is Men in the helm will do it??? Billion dollar Question???

ravikb
on December 6, 2012, 11:16 GMT

Looks like India did not even create opportunities to take wickets apart from one dropped catch of Cook. Does this mean that India bowlers are club level? Or Indian batsmen are below par? One thing is sure, England bowlers are several notches higher than Indian bowlers, this is true before they came here. But the surprising thing is their batsmen are also way better than their counterparts. Tired, irritated and frustrated with India team. After this series it's good bye from me to Cricket. On the other note, in this series Cook is very, very lucky as a batsman. He had a life during all the 3 innings he scored a ton. Not his fault though. He will definitely be one of the great batsmen of modern era soon.

hemadrithegreat
on December 6, 2012, 11:15 GMT

They should play more positively in the 2nd innings,with the same kind played by Laxman & Dravid in the past.Either Sehwag,Pujara,Tendulkat should be involved in huge partnership,then,this match will b every interesting if they can give England around 200-250 to chase on a 4th innings track...

lillie_express
on December 6, 2012, 11:15 GMT

The old batting guard has past by, ie Lara, Tendulkar, Ponting and Kallis...guys with insurmountable figures in test cricket. The new guard is Cook, Pieterson and Clarke and they are tusselling for supremecy. They have all played around 90 tests, all scored around 7000 runs, all average around 50, and all have around 22 centuries. Who will emerge as the main man?? Go one step further down the ladder and we have the spring chickens: Kholi and Co. Its about time we had another Bradman though, its been 100 years since one was born, someone to challenge not only the Kings guards, or even the king, but someone to challenge God himself, right to the heavens, someone so brilliant that no ripping, drifting, bitting leg break, or 100mph thunderbolt, or wobbly mediums are safe...feet like a champion boxer, eye like a dead fish, reflexes like a mongoose, wrists like steel, shoulders like candy...who will it be, who will it be...

on December 6, 2012, 11:11 GMT

Ha Ha cook aGain cooked Indian BowLers.
Alastair now become a All Star . hats off him with MontY. somebodY proud of their team. finaLLY consume the resuLT. we r expectinG 300 from Cook and 10 wicket from MonTY.

aby_prasad
on December 6, 2012, 11:11 GMT

ok another new discovery for the indian team. after reaching the pinnacle of test rankings a few years back, now its been reduced to this : India cant bat/bowl on fast pitch, cant bat/bowl on turners and now cant bat/bowl on flat pitches too. Great! the cycle is now complete! doesnt matter if they win from here on. they have disappointed even the best indian fan. and as per bcci chief, all is well!................. tough times for us fans at least! cos the players and selectors , in their minds, have no problem to worry even now!!!

on December 6, 2012, 11:08 GMT

I said it yesterday, and am saying it again. This pitch, like the ones used in Eden Gardens, in the last four international tests played here is a 600+ wicket. With 300+, India is doomed. Yes, against India managed 600+ in the 3rd innings. That was achieved by the legendary partnership of Dravid & VVS. There is none in the current team who can emulate anything even closer to that.

Barry89
on December 6, 2012, 11:07 GMT

The Indian team was relying on the foundation of Dravid and Laxman until now. They were the once who used to blunt attacks by grinding it out in the middle. So were the cause of our famous victories in India and overseas. The present lot seems to be just useful T20 players who dont want to slog it out for long hours in Tests. Being nervous against a medium strong spin attack at home where we are supposed to be unbeatable, god help us on fast tracks abroad.

tmoulik
on December 6, 2012, 11:05 GMT

Understandably Yuvraj or for that matter Sehwag can't be given one or two overs, even for an attempt to break the partnerships. If, by chance, Yuvraj takes 2-3 wkts, it will be difficult for Dhoni to replace him by his yes-men like Ravinder Jadeja, Raina or Rohiit.

on December 6, 2012, 11:05 GMT

India are an ordinary team. We all know they can't win comfortably away even against weaker opposition and now they are struggling on their own tracks. England will win this with ease :)

BlastFromThePast
on December 6, 2012, 11:05 GMT

Not reading too,much into the day or the or for that matter yesterday. it is just that
the English captain is in the prime of his career and has a disciplined team to back his own self. The point is that India were, are and I dare say still will prove to be handful for the English for the remainder of the series-complacency should not set in for the English, while for India it is only a single spark a bit of "magic potion" which is just the requirement.
looking forward to tomorrow, surely India will mount some sort of a fightback-it is time they did.And please let us not forget that the same team still boasts of one of the finest home records in the world.

challagalla
on December 6, 2012, 11:04 GMT

In for it and no VVS and Dravid to bail us out. I hope we can restrict them to a lead under 100. Shudder to think what KP will do tomorrow. This English team has shown character, sadly a trait that seems to be missing these days in our team.

Big_Poppa_94
on December 6, 2012, 11:04 GMT

England will not win this.
This match will be a draw.

The pitch is still true and gets better for batting.

Gozunder
on December 6, 2012, 11:03 GMT

If this test match and this series doesn't end a few careers and cause changes to the team, including the coach, then India will soon be languishing at the bottom of the Test rankings at no.9

baskar_guha
on December 6, 2012, 11:03 GMT

England is a team at its peak and surely will vie for #1 for the next few years with Cook, Pietersen, Anderson, Panesar and Swann. India is clearly rebuilding after the retirements in the last 2 years. They have to find the right middle order and young strike bowlers to get back into contention. Will take a couple of years, at least. India will do well to draw this series as winning it is now out of the question.

imrankhan76uk
on December 6, 2012, 11:03 GMT

I am only following it on cricinfo but by the looks of it, Compton is likely a right hand version of Cook in the making.... and for Cook himself...we just admire his ability and consistent performances

on December 6, 2012, 11:02 GMT

India are not even the best in Asia... The way Pakistan thrashed England in the UAE test series, England must have been in a foul mood coming in to India... But Indian bowlers and batters inconsistency proved too good a gift for them!!! Of course the demi-gods of India should give way to some modern day players...

SA is the no. 1 Test team, followed by England and then the Aussies, who are now gaining momentum once again...

Harinasi
on December 6, 2012, 11:02 GMT

Someone who has a penchant to play all the five days of cricket and not just bat his heart out can bail out India, in short Indian Team need someone like Rahul Dravid. No not starting the debate that Rahul should or should have retired, just stating the obvious, still optimistic about India's 2nd innings though for making the test interesting ! ! !

VillageBlacksmith
on December 6, 2012, 11:02 GMT

The ENG openers have set up a great platform for the middle order to get ENG into an advantageous position.. Let's see what Ian Ronald Bell can do this time with it all laid on a plate.. Capt Cook has already scored a ton in the game so a solus ton for his comrades still eludes IRB...

Big_Poppa_94
on December 6, 2012, 11:02 GMT

India aren't overrated.
Many DO acknowledge that they're NOT "teh best" overseas. India still have recorded series victories when going overseas. We know we don't have fast bowlers, but the pitches don't accommodate for fast bowlers. Grooming fast bowlers in the sub-continent is HARD. The reason Pakistan have fast bowlers is because of their physique (they eat meat), whilst Indians are predominantly VEGETARIAN. Also, the conditions in pakistan (around the hill valleys) are perfect for fast bowlers. Are you saying Indians should live in the Himalayas to groom fast bowlers? LOL NOT POSSIBLE.

India team makes do with the resources they have. What India does have is a rich vein of spin bowlers and batsman.

However, this Indian team is in transition. Pujara and Kohli are STILL youngsters.
Tendulkar is ageing, BUT he is STILL ESSENTIAL to guide the youngsters. Take out SRT and the team becomes MORE brittle. Yuvi just recovered from cancer, so you expect him to be all blazing?

Eff y'all.

on December 6, 2012, 11:01 GMT

Well clear to see why the Idian team don't want DRS, the only way they can get an England batsman out is when the umpire makes a mistake, even if it was a horrible shot selection on Comptons part! I see no problems in this wicket for Englands batsmen as long as they don't do anything stupid this game should be in the bag. India NEED to make some changes really soon if they want to be considered a serious test team.

heathrf1974
on December 6, 2012, 11:00 GMT

Great cricket by England, this is the best they've played since their Ashes tour in 2010/11. Indian fans are beginning to realise about their side what many non-Indian fans have been thinking for a couple of years.

itsthewayuplay
on December 6, 2012, 10:59 GMT

Hahaha - not letting England face any spinners in warm ups. Looks like it was the Indians who needed the practice. Looks like a lot of my fellow Indian supporters got the scoreline right - 3-1 unfortunately they got the teams wrong.

'Wait till you play in India' - I guess Ishant will have to come up with a new sledge because he ain't coming up with the wickets.

Cook has now scored 3 centuries in consecutive tests away from home. Is this a new record for Sachin to break? If Cook continues in this form he may catch Tendulkar's most number of centuries so another incentive for Sachin to carry on playing to try and add some more.

sachinbg83
on December 6, 2012, 10:56 GMT

What a difference KUMBLE, DRAVID and LAXMAN's exit has made to this team. They have completely lost the sting in the tail. this bowling attack looks so innocuous !! There is no way that they can take 20 wickets of a quality batting side on even good wickets. They have lost it due to IPL.

on December 6, 2012, 10:55 GMT

why india to worry, somehow they hv something to cheer,like at the moment sachin is back in form n got 70 plus. may b next innings kohli can b a century maker nd hurrah,,, a lot of celebations fm fans as well as fm commentators who will try to prove kohli as best batsman in the world of course after sachin. and if ojha takes 5 or 6 wickets, he will, by commentators declared a step above than ajmal nd swann. COZ,this is india,mera india

UsmanAnsari
on December 6, 2012, 10:53 GMT

another key difference is the performance & contribution of both the captains.. on one hand there is Alastair Cook, playing in prime fashion & setting a remarkable example for his team mates while on the other hand there is MS Dhoni who hasn't made any valuable contribution since long...

SillyPoint2009
on December 6, 2012, 10:51 GMT

Nagpur will be a belter and most likely a dull draw. So England to take the series 2-1, which will make India's next tour to England a "double-revenge" series. Keep on upping the stakes!!

bhrangi
on December 6, 2012, 10:50 GMT

As an indian., I underestimated England and cook especially. I was wrong, they are such a good team. Cook temperament is amazing. I fear after the retirement of Sachin, I will stop watching India's test cricket, because youngsters now wanted to join in ODI and T20 rather than Test so that they can get a IPL contract. look at jadeja he won 8 crore contract last year. Thanks to IPL. only relief is at least we are good in ODI . I cant imagine how we play in England or in Australia terrible night mare that is. Sad Indian :-(

on December 6, 2012, 10:48 GMT

It just proves that no matter how star studded your team is, your performance on the field is what cricket is all about. Sehwag, Sachin, and Yuvraj made larger than life are way behind Cook & Peterson. And Indian bowlers cant make it to any other team than India.

To me South Africa, England and Australia are the top three test teams in the world right now. India may be better of the asian lot but are no world beaters.

gerrardl
on December 6, 2012, 10:47 GMT

ahahahahahahahahahaha! OMG! India is taking a beating! English batsmen licking their lips at this bowling attack. At least a double hundred on the cards for Cook. If KP walks in at 300/2 then watch out :) I can't wait to see that.

Hash_Tag
on December 6, 2012, 10:46 GMT

@TheBengalTiger. You sir are surely joking... India are getting a belting here in India. Tent Bridge has nothing to do with it.

ste13
on December 6, 2012, 10:45 GMT

India cricket needs a throughout overhaul. There is dramatic need to inject new blood in bowling department. What was the point in selecting Sharma for this test, if he had been out of form for the last two years. You can find better bowlers in Ranji teams - but these bowlers are continuoulsy ignored by national selectors.
Batting is also a problem. This test will be lost by India by healthy margin.

on December 6, 2012, 10:43 GMT

Indians please show some fight.

on December 6, 2012, 10:42 GMT

the pitch is so easy for batting. our indian batsmen attitude is the problem.

spindian
on December 6, 2012, 10:37 GMT

Anderson bowled tremendous spells yesterday. I think its the Indian Batsmen who cannot play spin nowadays!! Don't recall a single players trying to dominate Monty, or even step out to him. Gambhir shouldn't have played that shot as the ball was too close to him to bail out. With the exception of Tendulkar, none of the top six applied themselves.
Even watching from the safety of the couch, one can safely say that to play Panesar off the back foot is perilous! This was apparent after the Mumbai test. Pujara will learn from his dismissal, hopefully.
TO all fellow Indian fans - England is playing better cricket, and that happens. Please pause for thought. We can't just chop and change because we're not winning!
@Hiba R. - they aren't schoolboys!! Stern warnings?? One can't force pride and passion to play for one's country. And I don't think there's a lack of passion. Its just limitations of talent and ability. Why can't we understand that as a nation?
It's been a riveting series....

nattuz
on December 6, 2012, 10:37 GMT

sheer arrogance and selfishness of senior batting pros is destroying the morale of the indian team. hats of to the english. they are showing that their destruction of indian in engalnd was not a flash in the pan. time for indian cricket management to think seriously!! end of career for bhajji, zak and ishant by end of the series. as far as the great batting legend srt he will play till his son joins the indian team!!

Waws
on December 6, 2012, 10:34 GMT

India is definitely the most overrated cricket team in world cricket,i dont even want to know what will happen to then if they play us here in aus nevermind S.A anywhere...
The problem is the indian team think they are untouchable,but fact of the matter is they currently getting a hiding from a team that cant apparently play spin...
Sad to see such a weak indian team,not even fun watching them play anymore
Much rather watch teams like Aus,S.A and England play

on December 6, 2012, 10:32 GMT

If Indian players not play a good cricket in second innings ............then the result will be the same as 2nd test

electric_loco_WAP4
on December 6, 2012, 10:31 GMT

No fan of England but love what they are dishing out to BCCI's team !! Couldn't have
dished out the treatment to a more 'deserving' bunch!!....

TheBengalTiger
on December 6, 2012, 10:26 GMT

Oh please. This is a typical Trent Bridge Pitch. England have to win on this, its their home conditions

Cricthink
on December 6, 2012, 10:24 GMT

Tommytuckersaffa's comment: Flat tracks, India is the only country in the sub continent that has flat tracks, next comes, bangladesh - SL and Pak have some what balanced tracks.
When you get a quality pace attack this what haapens, Anderson bowled extremely well and was ably assisted by Monty and Swan butted in as well. The result is there for us to see.
If Englands gets a 500+ score which is very much on the cards,the Indianbatsmen will strugle like they did in Mumbai and we are looking at 2-1 England and then England can not lose the series.
Interesting!

baranasai
on December 6, 2012, 10:20 GMT

I predict Cook to score another double hundred and one or or other two batsmen including The Wicket keeper of England who is a good batsman will score a century-the declartion will be any where after 625 only minimum.The indian second innings will start with a useless opening -irresponsible Shewag batting and rets will fail around him- score a maximum 210 -so it will be an innings and 150 runs defeat for England again.Indian spinner s again come licking their wounds as they will be taught how not to bowl.The entire team look defetaed alreadymay be exempt SRT this time- Indians will never ever learn to fight under these circumnstances .

matchfixerpkn
on December 6, 2012, 10:13 GMT

of couse cook played well..but credti msut go to indian bowler...and their batsmans who even make batting pitch as bowlng one ...

777aditya
on December 6, 2012, 10:12 GMT

Even the T20 World Cup winning West Indian team is finding it difficult to beat Bangladesh in Bangladesh. This is how historically good teams are built. They first become impossible to beat at home, like the modern day Indian team started doing under Azharuddin. Then, they go on to win a few foreign tours (which we did under Ganguly albeit only some matches, not series wins). Somehow, under Dhoni this team has backtracked by first losing 8 consecutive tests hopelessly outside India and now the same form has come back to haunt us in India as well. What is inexplicable is batsmen like Rahane, Tiwary dont even get a chance to get into an under-performing side, which means the current players have their berths booked no matter how shamelessly they play. Bowlers to replace - well, we dont have any! Sack the captain, sack the coach, shut the TV, and go to sleep!

pom_don
on December 6, 2012, 10:08 GMT

Shame for Compton as it looked like a glove on the replay & also looked like umpire Tucker was bullied into giving it, should have DRS & BCCI should not be given the option, technology has proved that it benefits the game & rights a few wrongs.

on December 6, 2012, 9:54 GMT

Time to bring Dada as coach? don't know how many will agree on that but its time to bring some angry guys to the team to wake this sleeping giants else we will keep on loosing

YazeerArabath
on December 6, 2012, 9:53 GMT

"Series 3-1 to England ? Not getting ahead of myself. However, I simply don't see these bowlers picking up wickets / batsmen scoring runs. Indian cricket in need of a complete overhaul perhaps? Something like that of an Argus review? We'll need a proper wicketkeeper-batsman who can stay put in alien conditions and a bowling allrounder - which will have to be Irfan Pathan. 5 batsman, 1WKB, a bowling all rounder & 4 bowlers (the bowlers list does not include Zaheer Khan)" - one of an excellent idea from cricinfo

Trickstar
on December 6, 2012, 9:52 GMT

Once again a poor umpiring call against England, Compton wasn't out and was even visible at full speed, the ball deviated off his glove onto pad and Tucker almost gave him out because he felt sorry for the Indians or because he didn't lioke Compo showing his bat to him. Great opening partnership though, they've both made good starts all tour and set a platform for the team especially this one, which apparently is the 2nd highest opening stand ever in internationals in India. Compton looks every bit an international player who should get an extended run in the side and Cook .... what can you say he's a beat, an absolute monster and as Captain is leading from the front.

itsthewayuplay
on December 6, 2012, 9:42 GMT

England 191 for 1 and Cook has scored his 3 consecutive century. But what is that in comparison to Tendulkar's return to form with 76 yesterday?

Hash_Tag
on December 6, 2012, 9:42 GMT

Oh my God what is happening. India are getting owned in this game. 191/1 and counting. Just how good is that Englishman Cook!? He is showing India batsmen how to bat in India. Staruss did this too before. I can't believe it.

TommytuckerSaffa
on December 6, 2012, 9:33 GMT

If you prepare flat tracks how to you expect to do develop quality fast bowlers through schools and development?? If you are a kid growing up in India and want to be fast bowler but no tracks assist you, then whats the point? If everyone idolises batsmen and not bowlers in india, where is the inspiration to be a fast bowler as a kid...? Now we have a situation where india doesnt have a lot of high quality fast bowlers and they are trying to bowl a team out on the 2nd day of a test match with spinners!!! Pls publish cricinfo, im keen to get peoples answers and thoughts on this as it is debate.

YazeerArabath
on December 6, 2012, 9:32 GMT

now we have to think about Dravid & Lakshman's absence.... if they were playing in this series... it could have been 3-0 win for India. So, there should not be any rush in resting sachin till Dhoni is confident that there is some good player is to replace him

NP_NY
on December 6, 2012, 9:31 GMT

@Rammohan Iyer: Sorry to disappoint you but India has lost all ability take 20 wickets on any kind of pitch (got a bit lucky in Ahmedabad). India's bowling cupboard is completely empty and there is no one in the pipeline. Ashwin and Zak are pretty competitive bowlers in the shorter form, but not in Tests.

Giant-Guru
on December 6, 2012, 9:31 GMT

Should India lose this test match, chances are they may well, but all praises and thanks to the wonderful display of Indian batting and a very subdued performance on field an by the players, and another stub-born Dhoni style of captaincy (of which 99% of Indians are fed up of) of not trying out Sehwag, Yuvraj and Tendulkar to try their hand with the ball. But Dhoni is a very disciplined player who thinks batsman should bat and bowlers should bowl, and since we have no fielders we can drop catches and give away over throws instead of making run-outs.

Enough is enough now, BCCI should start issuing stern warnings to these players for their actions on field....and show them the way if they fail to perform......put tabs on their IPL auction amounts and they will learn to play for the country and show the determination, focus and concentration shown by Cook/Peterson and list would be quite long.

binreddy
on December 6, 2012, 9:25 GMT

Go through Wikipedia and learn how to use reverse swing on English batsman.
4 years ago Andersen learned how to bowl reverse swing by watching Zaheer,
But now what happend to Zaheer...........

tmoulik
on December 6, 2012, 9:15 GMT

Ishant Sharma played his last test 10 months back. He took total 5 Wkts in 4 tests against Australia, in Australian conditions. At present he is bowling at a lesser pace than Jahir's and never troubled the English batsmen. He has to do something to justify his selection.

on December 6, 2012, 9:14 GMT

Well batted Cook. Most tons ever by an English batsman.

shovwar
on December 6, 2012, 9:04 GMT

I am a South African Supporter but sometimes I support India when they are not playing against us. But everytime I do that I end up losing. Why is India losing in their own spinning track? I understand if England beat us in our own backyard because our pitches help their strenght. But I didnt expect India to lose against England in India. It should be really frustrating for Indian supporters because their pitches are their only strenght in Test cricket. They play poor in fast pitches in general. But now they are starting to get beaten in their own domain. I hope India fight back.

on December 6, 2012, 8:56 GMT

@BDforever, why don't you propose the complicated formula including as many complex variables as possible, with possible weights, to determine which runs scored on what pitches should be given the highest importance? and don't forget to mark the "Bangladeshi" pitches as the toughest ones in the world, because even the home-grown batsmen fail to score runs at Test-level there, although they have grown on the same..... Come on, do some constructive criticism, don't just criticize for the sake of criticism. It's a fact that "Indian middle order" was the best in world for a long continuous time of more than a decade and thats what made India No.1 ranked team in "Test Cricket", albeit for a short duration.... Every team goes through this phase of rebuilding, and instead of criticising India negatively, be bold to accept that England has played much better cricket here than anticipated and is really looking good to even win the series..do not dare to criticise the great Indian batsmen...

zdrgn
on December 6, 2012, 8:56 GMT

this test is a lost cause for india. england is cruising.let us hope for the next one in nagpur.

lgnandan
on December 6, 2012, 8:53 GMT

India is really missing Dravid and Laxman here. If England is doing really well in sub continent is a good sign for Cricket. Sub continent countries have to do well in overseas too

bhrangi
on December 6, 2012, 8:43 GMT

@BDforever : Funny you were commenting about Indian pitches.,, ?? Does Bangladesh have green pitches :p LOL., anyways all the asian teams have flat / spin tracks, so may be we can consider the leading run scorer among all Asian nations., is that make sense?? still Indian is on top sorry mate

Bobby_Talyarkhan
on December 6, 2012, 8:38 GMT

This series will be a defining moment for both countries. England proving their superiority in every facet of the game. The myth of Indian invincibility on designer tracks shattered to smithereens. For a few Indian fans like myself and a few others, only an unmitigated humiliation could shake the bloated, rotten structure of Indian cricket out of the rut of its own smugness and complacency. We thought 0-8 away from home might do it - but no it looks like it will need a 1-3 home loss before deep rooted introspection and reform are undertake. The worst thing that could happen at this point is if India somehow manage to draw the series but it iis becoming increasingly difficult to imagine anything other than 3-1. They are lightyears ahead of us in every area - well played sirs and thanks for making our weaknesses so glaringly obvious that even we cannot go on ignoring and pretending that everything is OK any longer!

MartinC
on December 6, 2012, 8:37 GMT

@Rammohan Iyer - the match is in Indias grip? 316 all out on a flat deck after winning the toss and England are 126-0. If this is India in charge they must have a very cunning plan up their sleeves.

England need to bat for most of tomorrow as well and get well ahead. Its not going to be easy bowling India out second time on a pitch which will get slower and lower.

DSUS
on December 6, 2012, 8:35 GMT

I am having a hunch this will be a classic although not as good as 2001 may be.
England will collapse dramatically from 121/1 to 154 all out and lose by 15 runs (just saying ;)

electric_loco_WAP4
on December 6, 2012, 8:35 GMT

Though Eng openers put up handy 100 partnership you can't argue it came against a
flat Ind attack which is poor at most times and had good conditions- the flattest of a
batting pitch and small but quick outfield . The luck and ordinary fielding also benefit
the opening pair with dropped catches and lousy field set up. The 2 best attacks in
the world -Aus and SA would definitely not have let these 2 openers put more than
40 runs at best on the same Eden strip even in 6 attempts. Only A Cook would have
a chance to survive for some time vs those 2 bowl attacks....

on December 6, 2012, 8:30 GMT

Hey, I would like to hear more about the comparisons between Saaed Ajmal and Ravichandran Ashwin. Can you enlighten me please?

hraghava
on December 6, 2012, 8:23 GMT

We need to accept that India's test match team is inadequate, and likely to be so until the team loses its legacy players (except perhaps Sehwag)! Watching them walk out to bowl at England this morning - they looked slow, slovenly and sloppy. Not a hint of enthusiasm & energy in their pace of walking to their bowling and fielding positions. Playing Squad, subject full fitness for any series summer 2013 onwards - Sehwag (34), Gambhir (32), Rahane (25), Pujara (25), Kohli (25), Yuvraj (31), Raina (27), Dhoni (31), Jadeja (25), Ashwin (27), Ohja (26), Ishant (25), Aaron (25), Yadav (26) and Zaheer (34). No more pitch talk please.

Front-Foot-Lunge
on December 6, 2012, 8:19 GMT

Compare England's Spinners to India's - As everyone knows by now England have the far better, turning the ball more than their Indian couterparts and bowling incredibly accurately.

Compare England's Seamers to India's - Do hey have a flat-deck specialist like Anderson?

Compare England's fitness and fielding to India's - Again, England have led the world in fitness for many years now, and India's fitness and fielding is just above club level.

Conclusion - England just outclass India in every facet of the game.

on December 6, 2012, 7:48 GMT

Will India ever find a way to dismiss Cook to less than a ton. Waiting to be seen. If they dont, then it will be the same old story. I see a scoreline of 3-1 in England's favour. I am a die hard Indian fan, but practically What I could infer is Englishmen bulldozing the Indians.

on December 6, 2012, 7:45 GMT

@BDforever, Dear I do not agree with you. 1) how it is possible that all the teams play more tests at home? This is not statistically true. 2) you cannot take home advantage away from a player, whatever the sport is. 3) some places are better for batting, some are good for bowling. With the (desired) formula, would you like to take advantage away from bowlers as well. 4) a good player is good wherever he plays. Look at Wasim Akram. He took wickets all around the world.

And lastly stats do not have much impact when compared with performance. Look at Viv. Richards. How can he be compared with thousands of runs of many players now-a-days. But he was a great player. A treat to watch. Same is true for many WI bowlers in 70s and 80s.

salman_ak
on December 6, 2012, 7:43 GMT

lol on all the Indian fans, India facing a very up hill task in their own backyard??Hats off to the English team, this is exactly what a good team looks like, playing and performing well in all conditions unlike the flat track bullies.

on December 6, 2012, 7:42 GMT

Series uncannily matches 1984-85, where England won 2-1. I foresee England winning this match as well since the pitch seems to be flat and does not look to turn so much. 316 is hardly a big total and if England score 600 odd, we will find ourselves under massive pressure.

murdesi
on December 6, 2012, 7:35 GMT

@BDforever Please spend time on this site to compare Tendulkar's home and away records. He has played more test innings abroad and has more runs, slightly better average and scored more centuries in away tests.

on December 6, 2012, 7:27 GMT

Where is that killer instinct in Indian players? Why am I not seeing that desire to fight when the chips are down? What has gone wrong with the Indian players? Please. You are there to fight, to perform. There are 1 million expectstions behind you. Please dont let us down.

murdesi
on December 6, 2012, 7:07 GMT

India is surely missing the stability provided by Dravid and Lakshman. One day specialists like Kohli and Yuvraj cannot fill that gap.

A_Vacant_Slip
on December 6, 2012, 7:01 GMT

India all out 316 after winning toss. England 60/0. Already the comment from the India follower getting less and less....

CricShanghai
on December 6, 2012, 7:01 GMT

It looks like Cook is heading towards another good innings, setting up for the stroke players down the order to compile another 500 and more .... This pitch provides any of the middle orders to put up at least 30 odds.
Geoffrey Boycott suggest the English bats through to tomorrow tea, would probably put up 450-500, whic will put a bit pressures on MSDhoni and the boys, with Monty and Swanny very interested then to seal in with some pressure. A good test I'd expect for all 5 days ...

jmcilhinney
on December 6, 2012, 6:00 GMT

We expected Finn to extract a bit of extra bounce if there was any to extract and he managed to on that last ball at least. I doubt that the bounce is going to improve by India's second innings though, so he will have to improve his accuracy if he's to genuinely vindicate his selection over Broad. He's probably done enough already to retain his place for game 4 though.

on December 6, 2012, 5:57 GMT

In all possibility this match will be quite interesting as scoring 316 on htis wkt will not be an easy task. It took 11 over for England to score 22 runs and to day is the second day and I am sure if Indian can see the back of Cook and Peterson then this match is in our grips. All the very best India. Come out and play positively.

Harinasi
on December 6, 2012, 5:52 GMT

Dear Dhoni,
Please get a test century...we are missing a captain's innings since a long time...longer than Tendulkar getting back to form...your century means a lot to us than any batsman. Without doubt, the middle order can bat , but right now, not to their full extent, please get us that century which we need very badly...cameo innings will not work, get onto the pitch when we are two down or three down, get solace from batsman instead of bowlers who can bat, take us into that commanding position which the opposition cowers down in respect, create that hopelessness.
Yours truly,
Indian team's cricket fan! ! !

BDforever
on December 6, 2012, 5:52 GMT

Generally almost every team plays more test matches at home than they do in abroad. In that sense Indian batsmen have a big advantage to score lot more runs than others since most of Indian pitches are flat highways. Therefore there should be me a formula to give a weight for runs depending on pitch. Otherwise just adding career runs together (if most of the runs are scored on flat pitches ) and being a leading run scorer in the history doesn't make any sense.

on December 6, 2012, 5:16 GMT

India seems to be on vacations from performing well anywhr post the WC'2011. Tendulker has proved his greatness so many times and he does need to prove himself again just to slap his critics..he cant keep doin it fervevr,he has to retire someday n goin to be remembered as one of the greatest batsman ever!!

SrUmpire
on December 6, 2012, 5:00 GMT

Dhoni tried his best to keep his record intact at Eden gardens, but got dismissed...

No featured comments at the moment.

SrUmpire
on December 6, 2012, 5:00 GMT

Dhoni tried his best to keep his record intact at Eden gardens, but got dismissed...

on December 6, 2012, 5:16 GMT

India seems to be on vacations from performing well anywhr post the WC'2011. Tendulker has proved his greatness so many times and he does need to prove himself again just to slap his critics..he cant keep doin it fervevr,he has to retire someday n goin to be remembered as one of the greatest batsman ever!!

BDforever
on December 6, 2012, 5:52 GMT

Generally almost every team plays more test matches at home than they do in abroad. In that sense Indian batsmen have a big advantage to score lot more runs than others since most of Indian pitches are flat highways. Therefore there should be me a formula to give a weight for runs depending on pitch. Otherwise just adding career runs together (if most of the runs are scored on flat pitches ) and being a leading run scorer in the history doesn't make any sense.

Harinasi
on December 6, 2012, 5:52 GMT

Dear Dhoni,
Please get a test century...we are missing a captain's innings since a long time...longer than Tendulkar getting back to form...your century means a lot to us than any batsman. Without doubt, the middle order can bat , but right now, not to their full extent, please get us that century which we need very badly...cameo innings will not work, get onto the pitch when we are two down or three down, get solace from batsman instead of bowlers who can bat, take us into that commanding position which the opposition cowers down in respect, create that hopelessness.
Yours truly,
Indian team's cricket fan! ! !

on December 6, 2012, 5:57 GMT

In all possibility this match will be quite interesting as scoring 316 on htis wkt will not be an easy task. It took 11 over for England to score 22 runs and to day is the second day and I am sure if Indian can see the back of Cook and Peterson then this match is in our grips. All the very best India. Come out and play positively.

jmcilhinney
on December 6, 2012, 6:00 GMT

We expected Finn to extract a bit of extra bounce if there was any to extract and he managed to on that last ball at least. I doubt that the bounce is going to improve by India's second innings though, so he will have to improve his accuracy if he's to genuinely vindicate his selection over Broad. He's probably done enough already to retain his place for game 4 though.

CricShanghai
on December 6, 2012, 7:01 GMT

It looks like Cook is heading towards another good innings, setting up for the stroke players down the order to compile another 500 and more .... This pitch provides any of the middle orders to put up at least 30 odds.
Geoffrey Boycott suggest the English bats through to tomorrow tea, would probably put up 450-500, whic will put a bit pressures on MSDhoni and the boys, with Monty and Swanny very interested then to seal in with some pressure. A good test I'd expect for all 5 days ...

A_Vacant_Slip
on December 6, 2012, 7:01 GMT

India all out 316 after winning toss. England 60/0. Already the comment from the India follower getting less and less....

murdesi
on December 6, 2012, 7:07 GMT

India is surely missing the stability provided by Dravid and Lakshman. One day specialists like Kohli and Yuvraj cannot fill that gap.

on December 6, 2012, 7:27 GMT

Where is that killer instinct in Indian players? Why am I not seeing that desire to fight when the chips are down? What has gone wrong with the Indian players? Please. You are there to fight, to perform. There are 1 million expectstions behind you. Please dont let us down.